The Shadow Fox Returns
by KatherineAliceBeckettCullen
Summary: The sequel to "The Shadow Fox". Picks up where that one left off (to avoid confusion, read "The Shadow Fox" first). Beckett and her team are chasing the elusive Shadow Fox. Will they cature this assassin before one of their own is taken from them? Rated M for violence and some Caskett. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Welcome to the sequel to ****The Shadow Fox****. If you're new to the story, I suggest that you read ****The Shadow Fox**** so you ****don't get confused. It might seem a bit long, but it's worth the read. For those of you who were with me in the first installment, t****here's been another time jump. The last case was in late October, and this one starts five months later, so we are now in March.**

* * *

Chapter 1

Beckett stood staring at the board. Five months. Five months since she had shot Alex in the shoulder. Five months since Alex dove into that minivan and disappeared. Beckett was surprised by the silence. Three months without a whisper of where she might have gone. True, Alex was probably still recuperating from her injury, but there was a nagging suspicion the Alex may have died. _Impossible, we should have found a body if that was the case_. No, Beckett was sure Alex was still alive.

Beckett was also sure that Ewan Brebnor was involved; after all, he'd disappeared when Alex had. Beckett was sure that the blurry photo they had of the minivan's driver was Brebnor in disguise. Beckett wanted to kick herself. Both Alex and Ewan had been right under their noses the entire time. That was what frustrated Beckett the most. The Shadow Fox had been hidden in plain sight, in the perfect position to keep an eye on the case. Play the victim card well enough and no one suspects you're really the killer.

And Alex's portrayal of the victim had been absolutely perfect. She didn't go for something that wasn't life threatening like Monica Wyatt; she went for the real thing. If Alex needed to have defensive wounds, she was willing to get covered in them. The scars that had covered her forearms proved it. If she had set out to be an actor instead of an assassin, Alex would have been able to take Hollywood by storm. But that would never be a possibility now. Alex was now on the FBI's most wanted list. She would have to have major plastic surgery to avoid being recognized. Whether she went with the surgery or not, there was no doubt that she would have a few new identities by now.

Beckett's thoughts went all the way back to the first case. Alex had been dating the first victim, Brian Watson, when he was killed. That's why there were no signs of forced entry. And the third victim, Angela Crawford, had called Beckett, trying to tell them who the Fox was. Unfortunately, she'd been killed before she could say Alex's name. Before Crawford, it was Jason Caldwell, where Ewan had transported the rope to the roof under the cover of spare parts, a bad case of claustrophobia, and poor handwriting. Victim four, Crystal Peterson, had been murdered about a month later. She probably had just been followed, so Alex knew her schedule and when the best time to strike would be. The fifth victim, Kirill Andreievich, must have known Alex was the Shadow Fox, which explained why he had to die before Beckett could get to him. During that kill, Alex had probably been injured, which explained why the place had been doused in bleach. Victims six and seven, Colleen Maguire and Ivan Neski, had gotten too close to figuring out the truth. The research team was simply a cool half million. Beckett shook her head; Alex had killed 12 people in just eight months.

Beckett was concentrating so hard, she jumped when Castle said her name. "Kate?"

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"Oh, just trying to figure out how we never figured it out."

"Still? It's been five months. We couldn't figure it out because she was so good at hiding the truth."

Beckett shrugged. "I guess." She returned to her desk. "I just can't shake the feeling that we should have heard or found something by now."

"She's injured, she will have gone to ground." Castle sat down in his chair. "Are you going to turn this case into a rabbit hole like you did with your mom's case? Because it's not worth that."

"Castle, I thought she was a friend. And then I found out that she was a contract killer. I sat in her apartment, comforted her and gave her advice. I just…I feel so stupid that I couldn't see what was right in front of me all along."

Castle grabbed her hand. "Stop beating yourself up. You'll find her. And when you do, you'll do the right thing and arrest her."

"I know." Beckett smiled at Castle until her phone rang. "Beckett…"

* * *

Beckett pulled up outside the abandoned warehouse with a feeling of trepidation. The call that came in half an hour ago had said that the body had obviously been there for some time, which meant that, depending on the conditions inside the warehouse, the body could be quite smelly. Beckett had made sure to prep a handkerchief with her perfume before they left, just in case. Castle stepped out of the car as Esposito and Ryan pulled up.

Lanie came out of the warehouse. "Don't worry about the smell; this one's been exposed too long."

Beckett fell into step with her friend. "How long would you estimate?"

"Well, without running some tests, I can't really tell. She's over here." Lanie led the way to the body. "There's no I.D., so all I can tell you is the victim is female, approximately 5'6", shot in the left shoulder. The lack of blood near the body suggests she was shot somewhere else and bled out before she came here. And I'd guess from the voids in the dust that there was a generator and some machines, probably heaters, around the body that have been removed. Someone really tried to make it hard for us to figure out what happened when it happened, or who this was."

Beckett caught sight of the body and froze. The body was resting on a makeshift table in the center of the room wearing the same outfit Alex had been wearing when she was shot. The color and length of the hair also matched the last known description of Alex.

"Lanie, could the lack of blood be from someone cleaning up?"

"That is a possibility. The table setup looks like someone tried to patch her up, but wasn't successful. I'll have CSU check to make sure."

Ryan and Esposito had also noticed the clothing. "You're thinking this might be Alex?"

Beckett nodded. "Same clothing, same hair length and color, same injury; this could be her."

Esposito nodded grimly. "We have her DNA on file from when you shot her. We can run that against a sample from this Jane Doe to see if it is."

Castle was looking at the body, confused. "Why leave the body here? Why not dispose of it where it will never be found? Or bury her for that matter?"

"Does it really matter? They failed to save her; why take the body when there's nothing more you can do?" Beckett paused as a theory hit her. "Then again, if you're not going to take the body, why bring in a bunch of machines to accelerate the decomposition process and then take those machines away later?" Beckett turned to the first responders. "Who found the body?"

"An inspector hired by Talley and Sparks, the new owners. Said he was sent down here to make sure the building was safe."

"Where is he?"

Officer Chung pointed. "Over there. He was pretty rattled."

Beckett walked over to him. "Hi, I'm Detective Kate Beckett. I'd like to ask you a couple questions."

The inspector nodded. "Whatever I can do to help."

Beckett nodded. "When did Talley and Sparks acquire the building?"

"About a week ago. The previous owners defaulted about six months ago, so it was bank owned. As far as I know, no one from the bank has ever looked at it. I was the first inside in months. Or so I thought until I saw that body."

"When you arrived, did anything seem out of place?"

"There wasn't a lock on the door, but the chain was still in place. The padlock was on the ground. I just figured I should be ready for some vandalism that the company would have to paint over. I never thought I'd see anything like this."

Beckett thanked the man and gave him her card. After he nodded and walked away to be processed, she walked the scene and checked out the entry point before heading back to the precinct.

A few hours after returning to the precinct, Beckett headed down to the morgue to talk to Lanie. "DNA results back yet?"

"That was the first thing I ran." Lanie handed Beckett a sheet of paper. "Here are the results."

Beckett scanned the paper. "Not a match. This body isn't Alex?" Lanie nodded. "So she is still out there. The Shadow Fox is still alive."

* * *

Alex was out of breath. The bag she was punching looked like it was ready to retire. She'd been cooped up in this old safe house for far too long and was taking that frustration out on the bag. She hated being stuck here. Not that the place wasn't nice. It was actually a very good place to be stuck. It was a great two bedroom place with plenty of space for her tech man to have an elaborate six screen, top-of-the-line computer setup; the perfect thing for a world class hacker. As an added bonus, the apartment was owned outright by an identity that couldn't be linked to Alex because she had literally only used it for this location. The most that identity was used for now was to order in takeout or, occasionally, a new piece of furniture.

But it was time to get out of here. She'd spent the last five months doing nothing but home-style rehab that had turned into physical therapy and then training. She wanted to go outside, reacquaint herself with the city, and get back to work. She smiled as she practiced a few more jabs; her last job had been really easy. Victor Blackwell of Vertanin Pharmaceuticals had died of a heart attack a month into her injury induced incarceration, so that contract had been extremely profitable with very little effort on her part.

"Alex." She was forced stop when she heard her name. "We've got a live one."

Alex stripped off the boxing gloves as she walked toward the computer setup. "What is it, Link?"

Sloan "Link" Linklater, a.k.a. Ewan Brebnor, looked up. "New client. Target is one Barbara LaFountaine." He typed a few keystrokes and pulled up some information on the client on screen one. "Oh, never mind. The client is the husband."

"Who's his reference?" Sloan looked up in surprise. "Oh, come on. I don't give this address to just anyone. He got it from someone."

"Well, he doesn't mention who in his email. Here," Sloan started typing, "let me do some digging; I should be able to find something."

Alex unwrapped the tape on her hands. "I've never liked husband and wife contracts."

"You would have loathed this one then. A trophy wife was waiting in the wings. Here's a possibility. Treavon Stolk. He's an old client from when we first started working together here; hired you for the Bertrum job."

"We were using a different address back then and I haven't heard from Stolk since. Keep looking."

Sloan was still typing when screen four blacked out and the name Kate Beckett popped up. Sloan hit a couple of buttons; the name went away and The Listing popped up, highlighting Beckett's name on the billboard some assassins used to find work.

"According to this, Beckett was just posted on the New York board."

"Client is trying to keep it local. Who's the list-er?"

"Frank Sinatra."

Alex laughed. "He has a sense of humor at least. Do you know him?"

"No, but I can find out." Sloan started typing feverishly. "He's tech savvy; routed the signal through London, Hong Kong, and Berlin. There it is. He's really at an internet café in Soho. Personal computer…and he has a web cam. Hello."

A picture appeared on screen five. It showed a man wearing a business suit with a subtle 1940's influence. He was in his early to mid thirties and was very good looking. His facial features were symmetrical and his physique said that he took the time to work out. His haircut was nearly as expensive as his suit, which he had accessorized with a genuine Rolex Day-Date line watch. Clearly, this man had money.

"What's the bounty?"

"Oh, are you changing your mind about killing the cop who put a hole in you?"

Alex smirked. "No, and you know why. I just want to know the kind of riffraff this one will attract."

"Three million."

Alex gave a low whistle. "Everyone. Even the out-of-towners are going to want a taste of the action."

"Except you."

Alex nodded. "Who is this tool?"

Sloan started typing again. "The 'tool' is Francesco Zoratti. He's big in the fashion world in Europe; recently started getting into the American market. His signature is old meets new meets Italian."

"Explains the suit and nom de plume. What's his beef with Beckett?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll keep digging."

Alex straightened up. "Thanks. And let me know who claims the job."

"Sure." Sloan looked up as she walked away. "Where are you going?"

Alex pulled on a hoodie. "I'm gonna hit the streets; see what I can find out."

"Be careful."

"Yup."

* * *

**A/N: The Monica Wyatt reference comes from the Season 3 episode "Slice of Death". I'm also adding/showing Alex's perspective if it has relevance to the case that the gang is working on at the time, or if she has an important storyline to follow. Let me know if you like this format. I'd like to keep using it, though if you would prefer Alex to have her own chapters, please let me know and I'll see if I can do it that way. I want to make it easier for you guys to follow, so please please please let me know your opinions. I love it when you let me know what you guys think. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I want to thank phnxgrl for her review. I hope this chapter explains your observation a little. I'm still switching between viewpoints for now, it was easier to write it that way. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Alex slipped through the hatch into the safe house and shed her jacket. Sloan was digging around in the refrigerator for something to eat. He straightened up when he heard her jacket hit the floor. Alex's face was contorted in pain, her right hand clutching her left shoulder. The jacket was on the floor, not the hook she'd been trying to hang it on.

He threw the lunchmeat back in the refrigerator and came over to her. "Alex? Hey, what's wrong?"

"The scar pulled." She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. "Having two different bullets go through the same shoulder makes it worse." She crossed to the kitchen and swallowed a pain pill.

Sloan was watching her. "I think you're coming back too soon."

Alex shook her head. "Don't. Five months is a long time to be recovering and Kate is in danger. Did you find out anything while I was gone?"

Sloan shook his head. "Why are you so protective of her?"

"I've told you why."

Sloan crossed his arms across his chest. "Remind me."

Alex sighed. "Because she's a good cop. The two other cops who have managed to put a hole in me were trying to kill me so I wouldn't be able to rat them out. They were dirty cops who didn't like looking at the filth on their hands. Kate is different. Is she perfect? No, but she is making a difference in this city. There should be more cops like her."

"And you developed an emotional attachment to her while you were trying to keep an eye on where she was on the case."

"Maybe."

Sloan scoffed. "I don't buy it. Nobody like you would just flip a switch and start protecting someone who wants to arrest you."

Alex crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Nobody like me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You kill people for a living. I don't care; as a hacker and forger, I'm from the underground world too. I'm not opposed to what you do and I even admire that you seem to have a code of honor in the jobs you take. But an assassin doesn't go about protecting cops for no good reason. What's your reason?"

Alex lost her cool. "Because when I look at her, I see what I could have been if I'd been given a chance! When her mom was killed, she still had a father in her life and she was already an adult. I didn't. My mom left me and my dad when I was really young, so when my dad was killed, I had no one. No one! I was shuffled into the system. And then Rathborne comes along under the name Michael Stevens and adopts me. I was eleven at the time. What chance does an eleven year old kid like me have against a trained assassin like him?"

Sloan was beginning to understand. "Not much."

"I was training to become an assassin ever since. Until I met Kate, I couldn't see there being any chance for me to have a different life. But now…I look at her and I can see who I might have become if I'd had another parent in my life. Maybe I would have become a cop too. Maybe I still would have been an investigator for Hardy and Drew. But I wouldn't be a killer. I hate what I've become."

"Are you protecting her to, I don't know, pay some sort of penance for what you've done?"

Alex shook her head. "I'm protecting a friend."

Sloan shook his head. "How can you still feel that way after she shot you?"

"Because she wasn't trying to kill me; she was just doing her job." Alex hung up her jacket and walked over to the mirror. "She had to stop me somehow."

"This isn't some form of Stockholm Syndrome, is it?"

Alex laughed and stopped examining the fresh scar. "No." She turned to face her partner. "Now, if you're satisfied with this little heart to heart we just had, I'd like to move on. What did you find out?"

Sloan sighed and walked back over to his computers. "Zoratti's bounty was claimed by James Smith, a.k.a. Eagle Eye. I tried to submit your name, but I was rejected. Apparently I'm not the only one who knows you won't kill her."

"Specialty?"

"Long range. His favorite gun is rumored to be a Knight's Armament SR-25 a.k.a. Mk 11 that he calls Vera. You have a few days though." Sloan's tone turned light and sarcastically innocent. "The good news is that he's out of town and unfortunately can't seem to get a flight back."

Alex smirked. "That's why I keep you around. Anything more about Zoratti?"

"Remember how I told you he's tech savvy? He noticed that someone was looking at him and tried to trace the signal back."

"Did he get anything?"

Sloan smirked. "He's good, but I'm better. For all he knows, I'm a middle aged woman from Japan that accidentally stumbled into remotely activating his webcam."

"Nice." Alex rotated her left arm to loosen up her shoulder. "Why does he want Kate dead?"

"As far as I can tell, that information isn't available digitally. You're going to have to get that some other way."

"So what more do you know about Eagle Eye?"

"Only that five people have tried to kill him, but no one has ever succeeded. I guess Falcon got close. Anyway, he's not easy to get to and no one alive knows what he looks like. Basically, he's just a name and a reputation. Although rumor has it that he trained the late assassin known as Cole Maddox."

"Falcon…he disappeared four years ago."

Sloan shook his head. "Not really. I worked a job with him six years ago, so I knew his real name. Dirk Stoughton. He was murdered four years ago in Seattle. Shot with a sniper rifle that was left at the scene. Only Stoughton's prints were on the gun. Police thought he was the sniper who had been terrorizing the city for three months; they believed his death was an accidental suicide from improperly handing the gun. Later the rifle went missing. I'm guessing Eagle Eye went in and stole it back because the rifle was an SR-25."

"Vera." Alex stepped back. She'd heard of Eagle Eye before; everyone who spoke of him used the same fearful tone and Sloan's story proved why. He wasn't someone she wanted to mess with unless she could get very close without him noticing. It was unlikely that they could buy him off either. But maybe there was another way to stop this. "Find out everything you can on Zoratti."

"Anything specific?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, find me a way to void out the contract."

* * *

The next morning, Beckett stood in front of the board examining the crime scene photos. Lanie was working with a facial reconstruction artist trying to give their Jane Doe a face so they could start looking through the Missing Persons Database. The boys had finished canvassing the other businesses in the area, but no new leads had come of it.

Beckett went back to Lanie's autopsy report. According to the state of decomp, the victim had died months before Alex had been shot. Lanie's autopsy suggested that the process had been accelerated and the T.O.D. could be as little as five months ago, right around the time Alex had been shot and disappeared. Because there was so little soft tissue left at the time of discovery, it was hard to determine how long the body had been in the warehouse, but it probably wasn't too long after the victim had died.

She turned to the CSU report. Thousands of fingerprints had been found and hundreds of DNA profiles had been collected and logged, but they were proving to be mostly useless. Most of the fingerprints belonged to people who had worked at the warehouse before the previous owner lost the lease and the DNA was too degraded to actually get any matches. So there were almost no clues as to who the killer was on or near the body.

Beckett glanced toward I1. One of the sets of prints didn't belong to the former workers, and Esposito and Ryan were talking with the owner. His rap sheet indicated that Felton Collado was nothing more than a repeat trespasser. The likelihood that he had anything to do with the murder was not high, but they were hoping that he might lead them to a new avenue of investigation. Without anything to do at the moment, Beckett decided to watch the interrogation from Observation.

Collado was playing dumb. "_Look man, I don't know how my prints ended up in that warehouse. I haven't been on that side of town in months. Why are you grilling me about this?_" Esposito threw a photo of the body on the table. Before he had the chance to say a word, Collado was out of his chair and across the room. "_Whoa! I had nothing to do with that!_"

"_Really? Your prints were found less than twenty feet from where this body was discovered. You're telling me you didn't dump the body of a young woman in that warehouse about 5 months ago? I'm sure she didn't look like that back then._"

"_Fine, I've been in that warehouse before, but I didn't murder anyone and I certainly didn't dump any bodies_."

Ryan took the photo off the table and Collado finally sat back down. "_When were you in there last?_"

Collado shook his head in defeat. "_About five months ago. I was scoping out the place_."

"_What for?_"

"_I got a call. They asked me to check and see if anyone was living in there. Said they wanted to know if that building would be a good place_."

"_For what?_"

"_They didn't say and I didn't ask. All I know is they were willing to pay me $2,000 to check it out. If it was empty, I had to leave a blue dice in the Park Avenue entrance of Grand Central. If it was occupied, I had to leave a red one. It was empty, I left the blue dice, and the money was deposited into my account. That's all I know_."

Esposito shared a look with Ryan. "_Stay here_." The boys left the room.

Beckett met them outside. "He was used to find out if it would be a good place to dump a body."

Castle had heard the last bit. "Who was used to find a dump site?"

Beckett jerked her head in the direction of I1. "Felton Collado. Repeat trespasser. He was used to find out if the warehouse was a good dump site."

Esposito nodded. "With the way he jumped out of his seat at the sight of the body, I'd say he's telling the truth. I don't see how he connects to Alex in any way, and it's a big leap to go from trespassing to murder."

Castle glanced through the window into I1 at Collado. "Why use him to check out that location?"

"Probably to prevent the real killer from being I.D.'d." Ryan turned to Beckett. "What do you want us to do with him?"

"Book him for trespassing and ask him if he remembers anything else about the caller. I'm willing to cut a deal with him if he has something that's worth it."

"Got it." Ryan opened the door. "So, here's what we're going to do, Collado…"

Beckett returned to her desk with Castle on her heels. "I think I know why our Jane Doe was killed."

"She probably looked like Alex. Put her in the right clothes and hope she doesn't get discovered for a couple months; perfect way to disappear."

"Bingo." Beckett sat. "At least until we ran the DNA and found out it was someone else. If we had an I.D., we could at least give her family some closure." Her phone rang. "Beckett. Wait, what?"

Lanie was on the other end. "_Ballistics came back on the bullet I recovered. It came back to your service weapon_."

* * *

Beckett was sitting in Gate's office, waiting for her to get off the phone with I.A. Lanie had promised to get one of the lab rats she knew and trusted to take a closer look at the bullet and she would go over the Jane Doe's body again. In the meantime, the biggest question was how a bullet from Beckett's gun had ended up in the mystery victim.

Finally, the conversation on the phone seemed to be winding down. "Yes sir." Gates hung up. "I'm sorry, Beckett. You're off the case for now."

Beckett had expected this, but she still wasn't happy. "Sir, this is my case. You can't take me off of it."

"I don't have a choice. Until your friends down in the M.E.'s office and the lab can prove your innocence, I.A. is going to operate under the possibility that you killed the Jane Doe. They're going to want to question you, and that means you can't be on the case. I'm sorry. I believe you when you say you didn't do it. I really do. But we have to do things by the book."

Beckett shook her head. "When Ryan's gun resurfaced, we didn't pull him from that case immediately."

"The difference there was that we knew the gun used wasn't in his possession when it was used. Here, you still have what looks like the murder weapon. Which reminds me, I'm going to need to take it until you're cleared."

Beckett removed the gun from her holster and set it on Gates' desk. "Yes sir."

Gates sighed. "Go home. Esposito and Ryan can take care of things until you get back."

Beckett shook her head in frustration. This was not fair. She knew she hadn't killed that girl. But Gates was right; she couldn't be on the case as long as she was a possible suspect. She returned to her desk as Esposito and Ryan were called into Gates' office.

Castle was waiting by her desk. "What's the verdict?"

"I'm being sent home." Beckett grabbed her coat. "Until they can prove I didn't shoot her, I'm on administrative leave."

Castle put his hands on her shoulders. "They'll find something. You'll be back on this case before you know it."

Beckett sighed. "Thanks. Come on, let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Uh-oh. What do you think will happen? Leave a review, I'm curious to see who gets the closest. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl and cristie460001 for their reviews. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Alex didn't even bother to hang up her jacket when she returned to the safe house. "Sloan! What did you do?"

"What?"

"Five months ago, some woman was killed wearing the same outfit I was when I was shot. Yesterday, she's found in a warehouse. What did you do?"

Sloan turned to face her. "I was covering your tracks."

"By killing an innocent woman?"

"It made it look like you had died."

"And then implicated Beckett in her murder once they figured out it wasn't me. My DNA is already on file from when I got shot. All they had to do was run the woman's DNA to find out the body wasn't me. Today, they matched the bullet from her shoulder to Beckett's gun."

Sloan was impartial. "So?"

"Well for one, I wanted to keep that bullet to add to my collection. More importantly, Beckett is now on leave and it looks like she could be guilty of murder. Why would you do that?"

"Because I love you!" Sloan's calm demeanor broke. "I was trying to protect you because I'm in love with you."

Alex was stunned. "What?"

"I love you, so I'm going to protect you as best I can. I'm not asking you to love me back, but at least now you understand that I care about you too much to let you throw away your life for a cop."

Alex took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before she responded. "I am not letting a good cop, one who is doing a lot of good in this city, go down for a crime she didn't commit. Who is the girl?"

Sloan sighed. "Why?"

"So they at least know who she is. Right now she's just a Jane Doe. She should at least have a name."

Sloan glared at her for a couple moments before he relented. "Salley Anne Ashcraft."

Alex nodded. "I'm going to need a clean phone."

Sloan handed a burner to her. "I've used this one a couple times, but it was always related to Ashcraft's murder. I'm sure you wouldn't mind the cops finding it."

"As long as I wipe it down before I dump it, not really."

* * *

Ryan was sitting at his desk, thankful that the NYPD had finally digitized the missing person database. Facial recognition wasn't synched in yet, but at least they didn't have to lug the files around anymore. Lanie had sent the composite reconstruction up to them an hour ago, so Ryan had gotten started looking for an I.D. almost immediately. So far though, the search hadn't yielded anything.

Esposito glanced at the clock. It was a little after five. He glanced towards Gates' office and saw she was busy with paperwork. He turned around in his chair; Ryan was busy with the missing person reports. He was about to suggest they take the case "home" when Lanie called his cell.

"Hey Chica."

"Hey yourself. I wanted to let you know my lab rat came through. Alex's DNA was on the bullet from our Jane Doe."

"So it was pulled out of Alex and planted in the vic. This proves that Beckett is innocent."

"Yeah. I've let I.A. know, so we'll see what happens." Lanie paused, then continued in a confident, offhand voice. "She'll be back tomorrow."

"Of course she will. Good work. I love you. Thank you." Ryan had turned around to watch the conversation. "Lanie proved the bullet was from Alex before it was in our Jane Doe."

Ryan nodded. "Good. I.A.'s still going to drag their feet though."

Esposito shrugged. "Whatever. I'm going to go 'home' and work on the case there. Coming?"

Ryan smirked. "Sure. Let me close up. I'll meet you at the car."

Esposito grabbed his coat and went over to call the elevator while Ryan took his time to shut down his computer and take the stairs. They met at the car and headed to Castle's loft. On the way, Esposito stopped at a liquor store and picked up a couple six packs of beer. It was a good thing they had the beers with them when they arrived, because two I.A. detectives were leaving the loft as they were walking up.

Detective Wolff recognized them. "Detective Esposito, Detective Ryan. What are you doing here?"

Esposito held up the beer. "Poker night."

Wolff was skeptical, just like most I.A. detectives. "Really?"

Ryan nodded, backing Esposito's play. "Just a friendly game between colleagues and friends."

Wolff's partner gestured to the bag Ryan was carrying. "What's in the bag?"

"My laptop. Didn't think it would be a good idea to leave it in the car."

Wolff smiled. "Have a good night."

Esposito edged past them. "Yeah, you too."

Castle opened the door when Esposito knocked. "Come on in guys. I just need to set up the table. Oh good, you got some beer." He closed the door. "Thanks for the tip-off."

Ryan was thoroughly confused. "What tip-off?"

Esposito pulled his phone out of his pocket and ended the call. "I speed-dialed Castle when I saw the I.A. cops. Hey Beckett. How's it going?"

"Better now that I've been officially cleared. Did you guys bring the case with you?"

Ryan pulled out his laptop and grabbed a beer. "Lanie finished the reconstruction of our vic. I've been going through missing person reports, but so far I've come up with nada."

Beckett's phone rang. "I gotta to get that." She went into Castle's office where her phone was charging. "Beckett."

"Salley Anne Ashcraft."

"Hello? Who is this?" The phone went dead.

Castle had followed her into his office to grab his computer. "What's wrong?"

Beckett shook her head as she unplugged her phone. "I don't know." They returned to the great room. "Try Salley Anne Ashcraft."

Ryan typed the name in. "Here it is. Salley Anne Ashcraft. She went missing five months ago, though there isn't a DNA sample on file. It fits the timeline and is a fair match to the composite sketch."

Esposito looked at Beckett. "How'd you know?"

Beckett held up her phone. "The phone call just now. Whoever it was just said 'Salley Anne Ashcraft' and hung up."

Ryan pulled up a different page on his laptop. "Give me the number."

"212-555-2784."

Ryan typed in the number and ran it. "Prepaid phone, paid with cash. It's a burner phone."

Castle sat down. "Do you think it was Alex?"

Beckett nodded. "The voice was female, but a voice changer was used, so I can't be sure. If it is, why is she giving us the name of our vic?"

Esposito shrugged. "We know she didn't kill Ashcraft. Alex doesn't use guns."

"Not to mention she was injured at the time." Castle opened up his copy of the case files on the computer. "Five months ago, she's shot. Soon after the bullet is removed, Salley Anne Ashcraft is murdered and the bullet from your gun ends up in her shoulder. What if Alex just found out about the murder, disapproved of the cover-up, and wants us to know that?"

"We need to find the killer."

* * *

The next morning, Alex was still mad at Sloan for what he had done, but she had a bigger problem the take care of. Beckett was still a live contract and there was limited time to void it out. Sloan had been searching for something that might help, but Zoratti had covered much of his paper trail. Not that they weren't finding stuff, it was just a slow process to find it.

Alex paused in the middle of scrolling through what Sloan had found so far. "Link, what does this legal company deal with?"

"If you're calling me Link, does that mean you're starting to forgive me?"

"Just answer the question."

"He uses two companies. Which one were you referring to?"

"Alva, Cassidy and Langdon."

Sloan pulled up a new window and typed for a couple minutes. "They specialize in several things. It looks like they help people with documents, wills, starting and maintaining a business. Not much on the legal defense department though. That's what his other company is for."

Alex turned her chair around. "Did you say wills?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you find out if Zoratti has a will with them?"

"Let me see." As he typed, screens flashed by until he came to the one he was looking for. "Yes, he has a will on file, but I can't access it digitally. The backup copies must me kept in a server that isn't connected to the network."

"How quickly can you get me in there to see it?"

"What are you looking for?"

Alex walked into her room. "I want to find out where his money goes if he's dead…"

"…because Zoratti won't pay until the job is done." Sloan nodded as he turned to one of the other screens. "I'll look at his financial records more closely. See if he's hidden anything that might not be notarized on the will."

Alex had selected one of her nice pantsuits. "How about coming up with a way to get me in? I'm going to need a semi-high level of clearance."

Sloan smiled. "You can be president of the company before you're done getting dressed if you want."

Alex headed for the bathroom. "Just put me on the team that oversees his will. That should let me see it alone."

An hour later, Alex emerged from the bathroom wearing the pantsuit. Her hair was pinned up tight on top of her head and she had blue contact lenses in her eyes. She had added some prosthetic pieces to her cheeks to round out her face a little and her makeup covered up the pieces. She made a pit stop in her bedroom to grab a dirty-blonde wig before she went over to the front closet and selected a briefcase and long coat. She set the briefcase down by Sloan's computer setup and threw the coat over the back of a chair before she put the wig on and pinned it in place. Without a word, he slid a packet toward her. Alex skimmed through it and smiled.

Sloan was still focused on his computer. "You're new to his notary team; special request of Mr. Zoratti himself. Something to do with your ability to speak Italian."

"Guess I should learn some Italian."

Sloan chuckled. "Don't worry. You won't be running into him. He's busy with meetings and photo shoots all day. And I doubt anyone will quiz you on that."

Alex checked that the briefcase still had the case files from the last time she'd used it. "Good. What's the layout?"

"Screen six." Alex turned to the upper right hand screen. "Your best route is highlighted in green, second route is in blue, and the escape route is in red. Here," he handed her a phone. "I got this as a gift from my brother, so don't you dare lose or break it. Metal detectors and x-rays will think this is just an ordinary phone. But if you press in the code 'star seven five three six pound', it will open up and reveal an earpiece and microphone so I can communicate with you. Added bonus, it's also a camera."

"Excellent. Remind me to start calling your brother Q."

Sloan laughed. "He'd like that. Am I forgiven now?"

Alex slipped the phone into her coat's internal breast pocket and smirked. "No. But you're getting closer." She picked up the briefcase and headed for the door. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

* * *

**A/N: Just in case I didn't mention it before, Ewan Brebnor was actually an alias for Sloan "Link" Linklater. That's why Alex calls him Link. Any questions, comments, thoughts? I'd love to hear them! Drop a little line for me in the review box. I really do read each one and I love getting them, even if it is a critique. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Sorry I'm a day late. I forgot to post this last night. Anyway, here it is. We're starting in Alex's POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Getting into the building and up to the right floor was easy. Alex even managed to make her way to the storage room where the wills were kept without incident. The first problem she encountered was the door itself; the lock wasn't just a keypad, it was also biometric. Alex made a detour to the ladies room and slipped the earpiece into her ear.

Sloan answered immediately. "_Problems already?_"

"You failed to mention that the lock was also biometric. The code I have is useless without my thumbprint."

"_Give me a second_." Alex could hear his fingers flying across the keyboard. "_Hacking the server…biometrics…sample of your print….okay, you should be in now. Remind me we need to take that out when we erase your alias_."

"Okay." Alex pocketed the earpiece and microphone and then flushed the toilet to make it sound as though she had come in here for a reason. She also washed her hands in case someone came in and saw her before she returned to the will room. At the door, Alex entered the passcode and scanned her thumb. A couple seconds later, the light above the keypad changed from red to green and a faint click told her the door had unlocked. Alex slipped through the door and paused to put on a pair of gloves and slip the earpiece back into her ear. Zorratti's will was going to be filed under the number, which she had, but there were hundreds of wills on file in here and she didn't know how much time she would have. She looked at the drawers closest to the door to figure out where to go. Alex quickly figured out the system and moved through the room as if she owned it, finding the right drawer within a couple of minutes. She pulled open the drawer and thumbed through the files until she located the right one.

Alex pulled out the file and stuck an empty folder in its spot to mark where it belonged. She then carried the file to a nearby worktable and opened it. The will had been modified several times over the last few years, so Alex just flipped to the most recent update. According to the stamp on the top, this version was only a couple of months old. She took the phone from her pocket and took a picture of every page. To be safe, she also photographed the older versions as well, just in case there were any lines that said to refer to a previous version. Once that was done, she neatly straightened the papers and put the folder back in its place.

Sloan's voice suddenly came over the earpiece. "_Alex, I just got a call from a friend. He wants to disappear, like any good hacker with the FBI on his trail would. Anyway, he's willing to pay us a couple G's to steal his will for him_."

"And you're telling me this now because?"

"_Because you're already in the right room_."

Alex sighed. "What's the number?"

Sloan gave her the number for the will and Alex moved down the row a bit to locate it. She grabbed the folder, took the papers out of it, put the now empty folder back and closed the drawer. The papers went in the blank folder she'd used earlier and she slipped that folder into a hidden pocket in the back of her thick overcoat. It was only then that she pulled off her gloves and slipped the earpiece and microphone back into the phone. It wasn't a moment too soon either, because that was the moment Nicolas Cassidy, one of the firm's senior partners, walked in. Alex straightened her jacket and went over to greet him as though she was very happy to see him. Cassidy was looking at her like she was from outer space.

"Hi, Mr. Cassidy. I'm so glad to finally meet you."

They shook hands. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know you. And what are you doing in here?"

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name is Chloe Stork. I'm still a little new here."

Cassidy started glancing around the room. "That answers who you are, but not what you're doing in here. New hires are not usually permitted in this room until they are put on a team."

"I am on a team. I work with Adams, Mina, Lock and Fisher on Mr. Francesco Zoratti's will. He called me earlier and asked me to check on a specific bequest."

"Which bequest?"

Alex had to quickly search her memory for something she'd seen. "The section on the contributions his estate would make to the Francesco Zoratti Creativity in Action Fund. He couldn't remember if he'd made the correct changes when his will was updated two months ago."

"And?"

"Everything was in order. I just need to inform Mr. Zoratti now."

Cassidy nodded and let Alex go, but he still made sure to check on Zoratti's will. He opened the file and discovered that everything was neatly in order, just the way a member of his legal staff would have it. He relaxed and quickly returned to his office to pull up the roster of employees working for the company, specifically the ones assigned to Zoratti's legal team. _There she is, Chloe Stork_. A notation on her employment record stated that she spoke Italian, which was the reason Zoratti had requested her to join his team. Cassidy smiled. The girl was attractive and very enthusiastic. He was going to like having her work there.

Alex on the other hand was not relaxed. As soon as she was clear of Cassidy's sight, she punched in the code on her phone and slipped the earpiece into her ear. The microphone was in her hand as she entered the stairwell.

Sloan was waiting on the other end. "_Talk to me_."

"I ran into one of the partners. Nicholas Cassidy. Keep an eye on the building's security."

"_Copy that. So far, you are clear_."

Alex rushed down the stairwell, hoping to get out of the building without attracting attention. Thankfully, the law firm was only on the fifteenth floor, so she didn't have to go down too many flights of stairs to reach the lobby. Once there she smoothed out her jacket, shrugged into her overcoat, and pushed the door open, striding across the lobby as if she had all the time in the world. Alex caught sight of a guard eyeballing her, but she didn't react.

Until he called out to her, that is. "Miss, you need to stop."

Sloan hissed into her ear. "_You've been made! A call just went out to 911! Get out of there!_"

The guard was starting to move to block her, so Alex made a rush for the door, dropping her briefcase where the guard was likely to trip over it. As Alex got into the rotating door system, she glanced back just in time to see the guard trip with an almost comical fall. She grinned as the door deposited her outside into the lunch hour foot traffic. A few moments spent ducking and weaving later, she was safely concealed in the sea of similarly dressed New Yorkers heading to lunch from the office. At the first subway station, Alex followed the flow and took the first train she could catch. Destination: away from there.

* * *

Beckett and Castle strode through the doors of Alva, Cassidy and Langdon's building around 2pm. Beckett flashed her badge at the uniform that was waiting for them and was directed to the 15th floor where the majority of the law offices for the firm were housed.

Esposito was waiting for them when they stepped off the elevator. "She was here to look at a will. She said her name was Chloe Stork, part of the legal team for a Francesco Zoratti."

Castle was glancing around the floor. "And the real Chloe Stork just didn't show up today?"

"There is no Chloe Stork." They had arrived at the file room and met up with Ryan and Mr. Cassidy. "This is Nicholas Cassidy. He's a senior partner of this firm and the only one who had direct contact with her."

"I'm telling you, she was on the registry of employees and was listed as one of the attorneys who handled Mr. Zoratti's will." Cassidy turned the computer screen to face them. "After she left the room, I checked out her story. I'm telling you, she was at the bottom of this page."

Ryan gestured to the CSU techs processing the room. "So far, they've found dozens of prints, but the handle to the drawer Zoratti's will was in only has Mr. Cassidy's prints on it. My guess is she was wearing gloves, so we're not likely to find her prints in here."

"How do you get in this room?"

"Passcode and thumbprint. We're not sure how she managed to trick it, but if she was on the company's employee roster, her prints may have been on file too. Her hacker friend must be top in his field."

Cassidy actually laughed. "There is no way a hacker could have gotten into our system. The firewalls are state of the art."

Beckett turned to the partner. "With all due respect sir, this hacker is that good." She turned back to Ryan. "Was anything stolen?"

He shook his head. "No, and nothing looked out of place either. But we don't know what she really came for. She may have just used Zoratti's name to cover-up her true purpose here."

Cassidy shook his head. "I doubt it. She knew details from Mr. Zoratti's will. There is no way she could have known that without looking at it."

"How long was she in here?"

Cassidy hesitated. "I don't know. The security cameras are all monitored downstairs."

Beckett nodded. "Then that's where I'll be. Come on Castle."

They rode the elevator down and Beckett headed straight for the front desk. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, this is Rick Castle. We need to know where the security footage from the 15th floor is. Mr. Cassidy asked us to review it."

The desk secretary gave them directions and when they arrived at the security office, they were met by the head of building security. He brought them through the security suite, where Beckett noticed a guard nursing a twisted ankle, into the video room. The room had one wall that was covered in viewing monitors. Footage from every floor and elevator was playing back on most of them. One was frozen on a face. On it, Alex was looking right at the camera; at them. Her hair was a dirty blonde color and her eyes were blue, but it was still Alex.

The Head of Security, Gregory Halterman, turned to Beckett. "That's Alexandra Stevens, right? The Shadow Fox?"

Castle was studying the freeze frame. "She's changed her hair and she's probably using colored contacts in her eyes to make them blue, but that looks like her. She didn't do anything to alter her facial structure."

"So she didn't get plastic surgery." Beckett turned to Halterman. "What can you show me about the 15th floor?"

"Over here." Halterman showed them another monitor. "She arrives at 9:45. A little late for most lawyers, but excusable; she could have been in court. Waits for the elevator and gets to the floor before 10. Walks right to the door where the wills are stored, pauses for a moment and then heads to the ladies room. Spends ten minutes in there, and returns to will storage. Punches in a code, scans her thumb, and the door opens."

Beckett had been watching the tape closely. "So she's in the room at 10:12. Any footage from inside the room?"

Halterman shook his head. "The firm wants to protect their clients. We do know that at 11am, Mr. Cassidy enters the room, and five minutes later she walks out."

"So she was in there, alone, for about 48 minutes." Castle thought about it. "Cassidy said that she knew details from Zoratti's will; details she could only have known if she'd seen it."

"48 minutes is a long time. She could have easily looked at the will and looked at someone else's too." Beckett pulled out her phone. "Esposito, have the firm go through all the wills and find out if any of them are missing. Alex was in that room for 48 minutes. Using Zoratti's name may have just been a cover-up."

* * *

It took them hours to look through all the wills, but eventually they were able to determine that only one was missing. The will belonged to Chester Benigno, an investment banker from Chicago. When Esposito ran the name back at the precinct, they found out he was a hacker wanted by the FBI. Beckett contacted Agent Greene to inform them of the will's theft. He thanked her for the information, promised to notify the agent in charge of the case, and asked her to let them know if the will turned up.

In the meantime, CSU had finished analyzing the evidence they had collected at the law firm. The prints collected from the room didn't belong to anyone who shouldn't be there and the briefcase was a similar story. Alex's prints were all over it and the guard had left a nice shoeprint, but nothing in the case had come from the firm. Instead, it was full of Supreme Court cases printed off the internet. Basically, it was just filler to make her look like a lawyer.

Beckett finished reading the report. "No prints or hairs from Alex in the room. We can't prove she stole anything. All we can prove is that she was in the room."

"Which would be trespassing at the very least." Castle handed Beckett a coffee.

Esposito picked up a still of Alex. "Why go in there at all? Who is Chester Benigno to her anyway?"

"Ewan Brebnor's alternate I.D. maybe?" Castle turned from the board.

"I doubt that." Beckett held up the DMV photo of Benigno. "This is not Brebnor."

"Maybe she's diversifying." Ryan put down the folder he'd been reading. "She's been exposed as an assassin. In order to get work, maybe she's branching out to stealing things for underworld contacts."

"Maybe." Beckett glanced at her watch. "It's getting late. Let's pick this up tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to thank phnxgrl for her review. I can always count on you to have something to say :). Please leave a comment or review; I'd love to hear what you guys have to say!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Special thanks to phnxgrl for her review. Yep, Alex is complicated. Will Kate pick up on that? (Shrugs shoulders non-committally) We'll find out.**

**This chapter starts right with Alex returning to her safehouse with the will she filched from the lawfirm. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Alex pulled the will out of her jacket when she got back. "Okay Link. Who is Benigno? I only know your friends by their code names."

Sloan chuckled. "You'll laugh at me."

"Yeah, probably." Alex dropped the folder onto his workstation. "I'm just trying to figure out what could be on this will that would make it dangerous if the Feds found it. Come on, spill."

"Bingo. That's his codename."

Alex did laugh. "Bingo got pinched?"

"Not yet. But he has been tagged." He hit a couple more buttons. "There. Now your alias and fingerprints are gone. So, did you have fun?"

"Yes, I did; especially the part where the security guard tripped over the briefcase. And it was nice to get a little excitement. Now, stop changing the subject. Why'd Bingo have us steal his will?"

Sloan sighed. "If the Feds had found it, some of his underworld contacts were at risk of exposure. He had us steal it to protect them, just in case he did get pinched."

"That's nice that he would think of protecting his contacts. Although, now we're connected to him, so maybe it wasn't so nice."

"Money exchanged hands, so we aren't known as contacts so much as client and hired hand." Sloan stood and stretched. "I printed out the pictures you took. They're on the table."

Alex crossed to the table and sat down. "Okay, Zoratti. How do I stop you?"

* * *

The next morning, Beckett and Castle arrived at the precinct to find Ryan and Esposito already there, updating the board for Ashcraft's murder. They had dropped everything when Alex had resurfaced to try following the few new leads they had to work with on that front. After the unproductive session last night though, they had figured they should get back to the Ashcraft case. Maybe by solving that case they'd get a few steps closer to Alex.

Esposito turned around when he heard Beckett's chair pull back. "Hey guys. I thought we should really get to work on this case, now that we know we're staying on it."

Beckett dropped off her things and came over. "Where are you?"

Ryan stepped back. "We went back over the crime scene photos, the victim's background, and Collado's story. Plus we got a warrant for the security footage at Grand Central's Park Avenue Entrance. We're just waiting for it to come in now."

"Hopefully we'll be able to put a face to the mystery caller." Castle's phone rang. "Sorry, it's my publisher." He put the phone to his ear. "Gina! To what do I owe the displeasure?" He walked off to take the call.

Esposito was watching Beckett. "You okay with that?"

"Him talking to his 2nd ex-wife? Yeah. She's his publicist. Nothing I can do about that." She gestured to where Castle was standing. "Besides, it's not like he's enjoying the conversation any."

Castle hung up and came back. "Sorry about that."

"Everything okay, bro?"

Castle shrugged. "Yeah, they've just rearranged my entire tour schedule. Now I'm not going to be in San Francisco when Alexis has her spring break, so I won't be able to spend any time with her."

Beckett rubbed his arm. "She'll understand. And I'm sure the two of you will have a lot a fun when she comes back for the summer."

Castle smiled. "Thanks. So, what'd I miss?"

"Not much."

"You guys were talking about Gina."

A chime sounded from Ryan's computer. "Grand Central sent the footage over."

Beckett nodded. "Go through it carefully. I want that face."

* * *

"I think I might have something."

Alex turned her head. She'd given up trying to decipher the legal mumbo-jumbo in Zoratti's will and was running on the treadmill. It wasn't like the will had been a complete bust. So far, she could tell he had an over-inflated ego, not that most fashion designers didn't. He also didn't name very many people when it came to giving out specific bequests. Apparently, he was closer to his cleaning staff and entourage than he was with any real friends. Alex sighed; the upside of killing this guy was that there wouldn't be very many people who would miss him. Well, maybe the cleaning staff would. He was the man giving them all jobs after all. She pulled the cord on the treadmill and stopped running. It was time to take a break from her training.

"What is it?" She grabbed a towel and went over to Sloan's setup.

"You wanted to know why Zoratti wants Beckett dead, so I tried to figure out where their paths may have crossed." Sloan pointed to screen one. "I cross referenced Zoratti's credit card purchases against Beckett's cards and got nothing, so I checked Castle's cards. Again, I got nothing."

"But you said you had something."

Sloan smiled. "I'm getting there. I thought maybe Zoratti had been questioned by Beckett in connection to a homicide. Again, nothing. However, I did notice that case files are fairly detailed on what the cops do, especially if they're putting on an undercover sting operation. That's where I got a hit."

"Where?"

"Beckett and company did an operation at Ella. It's a nightclub named after Ella Fitzgerald. And Zoratti was there the same night."

"Well, Beckett is an attractive woman. I wonder…" Alex trailed off.

Sloan was watching her think. "What?"

"Well, from his will, it sounds like he is a pretty arrogant guy. What's he like in person?"

"He's well known." Sloan stared typing on screen two. "Let's see what social media has to say."

Alex read off the reviews as they popped up on the screen. "'Self centered,' 'no talent,' 'a jerk.' Okay, so not loved." Alex smiled. "What about his personal life? Any girlfriends leave him, or is he the type to leave them?"

"Tabloids don't really say, but I can get the names." Sloan was typing quickly. Page after page of tabloid articles popped up, the girlfriends' names highlighted on each. He then switched to screen three. On it, he started sorting through the girlfriends' social networking sites. Every girl had plenty of rude things to say about their breakups.

"Like I thought, he's the leaver."

"Maybe not entirely." Sloan pointed to a news article that popped up. "Three years ago, he was dumped by this model. A month later, she washed up in Daytona Beach. Zoratti was a person of interest, but the police couldn't connect him to her murder. Apparently, he had been in Milan at the time of death. Talk about a solid alibi."

"So he doesn't like being rejected. And isn't afraid to hire out his dirty work." Alex paused to think as she skimmed the article. "Ella…does it have surveillance cameras?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Sloan pulled up the footage on screen four. "Oh, look. There's your girlfriend."

Alex smiled at the jab. "She's not my girlfriend. There's Zoratti."

They watched as Zoratti sidled up to Beckett, who was standing by the bar. He started putting on the moves, which Beckett ignored. Finally, she turned to him, said something, and walked away. Zoratti's face showed how upset he was as he glared at Beckett's retreating back. After a minute, he stalked off, still glaring at Beckett as she made her way over to a different man in the bar.

Alex shook her head. "That's why Zoratti wants her dead. She rejected him, and he couldn't take it."

"Strange that he doesn't mind putting a hit out on a cop. No one kills a member of New York's finest and gets away with it."

"And I thought you wanted me to kill her."

Sloan smirked. "Because I know you're the exception to that rule."

Alex shook her head in amusement. "Well, I'd imagine that the promised three million was more than enough to convince another assassin to risk angering those finest. Is Eagle Eye on his way into town?"

"He gave up on the airports and rented a car this morning. Used a credit card registered to a Clint Asendorf. As far as I can tell, that's his real name. James Smith is just another alias."

"Where'd he rent the car from?"

"Denver."

Alex nodded. "So we still have time."

Sloan looked up at her. "What are you thinking?"

"According to what little I understood of his will, Zoratti's estate gets split up between his entourage, cleaning staff, and various charitable organizations. And of course, many of those organizations were started by Zoratti himself."

"A nice little tax break for him, I'm sure."

"Exactly. Other than that, it doesn't look like he has anyone he's particularly close to in life. What'd you find in his accounts?"

Sloan went back to screen one. "As far as I can tell, he hasn't hidden any money or made any large withdrawals lately. The IRS busted him a few years ago for trying to do that and have been keeping a close eye on his financial records ever since. He hasn't tried again."

Alex smiled. "So when he's dead, the contract becomes void."

"Isn't there always a clause about settling his debts?"

Alex's face fell as she sighed. "Yes." An idea struck her. "You've been keeping an eye on Asendorf, right?"

Sloan wasn't sure where this was going. "Yes."

"Do you have a picture?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Now he's more than just a code name and a rep."

Sloan looked shocked. "You can't be serious. You can't go after him! He'll kill you!"

Alex smiled and put a hand on Sloan's shoulder. "I'm not going after him. But I know how we can keep him from trying to claim that Zoratti owes him a debt."

"How?"

"Put together everything you have on him and send it to the Feds. Zoratti is already on federal radar for hiding money, so when he is murdered, it's going to attract a lot of attention. His will is going to be closely examined to ensure there aren't any loopholes. Anyone who comes forward to claim a debt will be thoroughly checked out."

Sloan had caught on. "And if they know to watch out for a Clint Asendorf, a.k.a. Eagle Eye, he wouldn't get paid even if he did complete the job. Plus, it wouldn't matter what name he used, the Feds would recognize his face."

Alex nodded. "Exactly."

"If he's as connected as he's rumored to be, he'll know the Feds are looking for him."

"And he won't try to kill Beckett with that kind of heat on him; especially if there's no longer anything in it for him."

Sloan sighed. "You realize this means you're committing treason, don't you?"

"We're only in danger if he finds out who was the rat. If you don't leave any evidence that we were the ones who did it, he'll have no reason to come after us."

"So you'll still do contracts?"

"Only if I like them." Alex rolled her left shoulder as she headed back to the treadmill. "Let's see if anyone wants Zoratti dead. It would be nice to get paid for all the work we've been doing."

Sloan rolled his eyes. "You mean, I've been doing?"

Alex laughed as she started up the machine again. "Tow-may-toe, tow-mat-toe."

* * *

**A/N: What's going to happen next? Drop me a line and we'll see who's close!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This chapter is a bit shorter. Mostly dealing with Beckett and company. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Ryan had been watching the security footage for hours. It had taken an hour watching the footage at high speed to find Collado leaving the blue dice. An hour of high speed footage later, the dice had disappeared. Now he was going through the footage in real time, trying to pinpoint when the dice vanished. He was about to take a break when he saw it; a young woman broke away from the crowd and picked up the dice. Ryan rewound the tape and started looking at it frame by frame. Finally, she turned toward the camera. It was Alex. _No, not Alex_. Ashcraft, Salley Anne Ashcraft.

"Hey, check this out." Ryan waited until Beckett came over. "Look who took the blue dice."

"The victim?"

"Yeah. Think we should look at her financials too?"

Beckett nodded. "Yeah. And print that out." She returned to the board and updated the timeline. "So she was still alive two days after Alex was shot. And after seeing how much of a resemblance she has to Alex, I think it's safe for us to say that Ashcraft was definitely killed to cover up the fact that Alex is still alive."

Ryan put up the still shot. "Now the T.O.D. window is smaller. I'll get the rest of the footage from Grand Central and see where Ashcraft went."

"Good. Esposito?"

"Yeah."

"Look into Ashcraft's financials. She was the one who picked up the dice. I want to know if she might have been paid to do it."

Esposito nodded. "I'll look at her phone records too."

Beckett returned to her desk and pulled up Collado's financial and phone records. Most of the people on his phone records were people Collado knew, but there was one number from someone he didn't: 212-555-2784. _That's the number that called me_. Beckett dialed the number, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, Ryan."

"Yeah."

"That number that called me. Do you know what type of phone that was?"

"Let me check." Ryan pulled up the information. "It's a T-Mobile Comet. Why?"

"Does it have GPS?"

"Yeah."

Esposito looked up. "That number called Ashcraft."

"It called Collado too. See if I.T. can run a trace on that GPS signal. I want to know where this phone is."

Ryan started dialing. "You think we could use the phone to find Alex?"

"If we're lucky."

* * *

They weren't lucky. I.T. was able to track the location of the phone, but it led them to an alleyway in Washington Heights. Beckett and company went to the location the see what they could find. What they found was a man holding the phone; he was clearly homeless and was using the phone like it was a UFO detector. When he saw Beckett approaching with several uniformed officers behind her, he started screaming.

"Get back to your mothership! It won't stay hidden for long! My sensor will find it! Go back to where you came from!"

A few of the officers moved to draw their weapons, but Beckett waved them down. "Sir, my name is Detective Kate Beckett. I'm with the New York Police Department. Please, calm down. We come in peace. I'd just like to ask you a few questions if that's alright with you."

"Liars! You cannot fool me. I am Starsky, the keeper of the sky! Leave my home at once! We will not let you foul creatures take us alive!"

"Mr. Starsky, I just want to know where you got that phone. I'm a homicide detective and I think that that phone is very important to my investigation."

Starsky clutched the phone close to his chest. "No! It's mine! You can't have it!"

Esposito was watching this exchange and noticed what Starsky was wearing. "Stand at attention, Soldier!"

It was like a switch had been flipped as the homeless man snapped to attention. "Yes sir!"

"What are you doing?" Beckett hissed at Esposito.

"He's a soldier; look at his fatigues."

"So?"

"Just trust me." Esposito walked up to Starsky. "What's your name and rank, Soldier?"

"Private First Class James Star, sir!"

Esposito answered the man's salute. "I understand you have essential intel, Private Star. I request you turn that over to Detective Kate Beckett for processing."

"Yes sir!" Private Star held out the phone and Beckett took it, slipping it into an evidence bag. "Will I get that back, sir?"

Beckett shook her head. "No, but I'll see about making sure you can receive some sort of compensation for it."

Private Star saluted again. "Thank you, Ma'am."

Esposito took over the conversation again. "Where did you find that, Private?"

Private Star turned back to Esposito. "Highbridge Park. Trashcan on the south side."

Esposito continued while Ryan jotted down notes. "Did you see who left it there?"

"No, sir."

Esposito saluted. "At ease, private."

Beckett relaxed a little as they began to walk away. "How'd you know that would work?"

"He's a soldier. Obeying orders is one of the first things that gets drilled into you in bootcamp." Esposito glanced back at Private Star. "What'd you mean, he'd be compensated? Like, he'd be a confidential informant or something like that?"

"Something like that." Beckett shrugged. "I don't know. It didn't feel right to be taking this from him without giving him something to replace it. Or help him out somehow."

Castle was waiting by the car. "How'd it go?"

"Like you weren't watching."

Castle smiled. "Now why would I do that?"

Beckett held up the bag. "We got the phone. Any chance you've got something on you we can give the man for this?"

"Sure." Castle pulled a hundred out of his wallet. "May I?"

"Castle, that's too much."

"Trust me."

Beckett shrugged. "Okay. It's your money."

Castle walked up to the private. "Hi, I'm here to deliver the compensation you were promised, but there's a little catch." The Private looked at him suspiciously. "You need to go to a shelter tonight. Tomorrow, you need to contact a veterans' assistance group; I'm sure the shelter can put you in touch with a good one. I'd like to imagine that you were a good soldier. It looks like you've had a hard time with transitioning back into civilian life. I want to help you with that. Here," Castle handed him the money, "use this to get started in that process."

The private was looking at the money with awe. "Thank you, sir."

Castle nodded. "I'm gonna hold you to that deal. Keep your end of the promise, and I'll continue to help you get back on your feet."

"Yes, sir."

Castle turned around and headed back to the group. "Okay, I was listening earlier."

Beckett smiled. "You did good. Let's get this back to the lab. And start to canvass the area around the park. Maybe someone else may have seen who dumped this."

* * *

Alex watched the entire exchange from the roof across the street. "They found the phone."

Sloan responded over her earpiece. "_Should we be concerned?_"

Alex chuckled. "I wiped it down and dumped it in Highbridge Park. We'll be fine."

"_Good. I like this place too much._"

"Me too. Where are we on Zoratti's enemies?"

"_I think its time for you to come home. I've got some things to show you._"

* * *

Alex slipped into the safehouse. "What'd you find?"

"We've got a winner." Sloan pointed to Screen 1. "Judit Aranka Fazakas, a Hungarian designer who's been Zoratti's biggest competition in the European market. She's been trying to break into the American market for a few years, but Zoratti has always managed to snake her potential investors."

"Does she want him dead?"

"Yes and, with a little persuasion, she's asked you to do it." Sloan turned to face Alex.

"How long before Asendorf is in town?"

"If he drives through the night and breaks all the speed laws, he should be here tomorrow afternoon."

"Where is Zoratti now?"

"He is staying at The Muse New York. It's one of many in the Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants group."

Alex looked over Zoratti's hotel itinerary. "He's got a massage scheduled for 10am tomorrow morning. Let's make sure the masseuse is unavailable."

Sloan smirked. "I could do with a nice massage." Alex smirked as she watched him play with the masseuses' massage schedules and hotel reservations. "And there you have it. I'll make sure all your documents are mostly ready tonight."

Alex went to examine her knives. "Do I need to pick up anything?"

"The hotel provides all the equipment. You just need a good disguise."

"Call up Paulo. You're going to need one too."

Sloan gave a low whistle. "Paulo isn't cheap."

"He will be tomorrow. I'm going to call in that favor he owes me."

* * *

Beckett joined the canvass of Highbridge Park after dropping off the phone with the lab. Uniforms were going door to door through all the buildings within a 3 block radius of the park, but so far, no one had ever seen Alex in or around the park. By 8pm, they had covered the whole area, but no leads had come up. Beckett was disappointed, but was forced to call off the canvass when it became obvious that they weren't going to learn anything more.

The next morning, Beckett found the lab's report on the cell phone they took from Private Star waiting for her on her desk. It had been wiped clean before it was dumped, so the only trace and fingerprints on the phone were from Private Star and the trashcan. The call record on the phone didn't lend them much to go on either. Six numbers had been dialed by the phone; three of them matched Collado, Ashcraft, and Beckett while the other three were for payphones in different parts of the city. Beckett sent Ryan and Esposito out to see if they could find out more about those payphones.

It took them a couple of hours, but they came back with tapes. "All of the phones were near a surveillance camera of some kind." Esposito held up three discs. "These three had the clearest view of each of the phones and still had the videos on file."

Ryan took them from his partner. "I'll go through them; see if I can find faces to go with the calls."

"Good. Let me know what you get."

Esposito hung his coat on his chair. "What'd you dig up?"

"Castle spent the morning tracking down Private Star. He managed to find the shelter he stayed at and they did recommend a Veteran's group Star could go to."

Esposito smiled. "That's great. What about you?"

Beckett sighed. "I finally managed to get a hold of Ashcraft's family. Apparently, they were on vacation and just got back last night."

"How'd that go?"

"They wanted to see her body." Beckett shook her head. "I finally managed to convince them that after five months, that wasn't a good idea. Where'd you find the tapes?"

"Mostly from stores in the area. Whoever picked these phones made sure they were away from traffic cameras, but I don't think they were thinking about the ones in the storefronts. At least I'm hoping that's the case."

Beckett smiled. "Help Ryan with those tapes. The sooner we have those faces, the sooner we can put names to them."

* * *

**A/N: A special thanks to phnxgrl for her review. I know we didn't really delve very far into Alex's activities, but we'll get there. Any comments? I'd love to hear them.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Thanks to phnxgrl for her review. I loved letting Castle help out that Vet; it just seemed like something that man would do. And now, for the chapter. We're starting from Alex's perspective. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Alex looked at herself in the mirror. Paulo had cut her hair and dyed it; now she had shoulder length auburn hair. He'd also applied some prosthetic pieces on her nose, cheek bones and chin, giving her face more angular features. _I look like an elf from those Lord of the Rings movies_. At least she didn't look like Alexandra Stevens anymore. Paulo started on her makeup. He used an airbrush to make sure the paler skin tone he was giving her was even and natural. To finish it off, he added freckles on her cheeks. Alex smiled at herself; once she put in her colored contact lenses, no one was going to recognize her at all.

Paulo stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Perfect. You don't look like yourself at all. If your boyfriend were to pass you in the street, not even he would recognize you now."

Sloan stepped out of his bedroom wearing a high-end suit. "That's the idea. Come over here so I can finish your new I.D."

"Hold on, I need to put in my contacts."

"Hurry." Alex popped in her contacts and stepped in front of a grey background Sloan had set up earlier. He then snapped a picture of her and turned to his computer. "You'd better get dressed. Your shift starts soon."

Alex went into her bedroom and changed into the white shirt, khaki pants, and white medicinal shoes uniform that the hotel's spa employees used. She also packed a messenger style bag to take with her; her knife was carefully wrapped in a change of clothes and a couple water bottles full of bleach were tucked into the pockets on both sides of the bag before she emerged from her bedroom. Paulo was putting the finishing touches on Sloan's disguise. His hair had also been trimmed and was now dyed and slicked back, though Paulo had dyed it black instead of auburn. Sloan's skin couldn't be changed because he was getting a massage later, but Paulo had added a scar on his chin and used prosthetic pieces to round out his facial features.

Alex went over to take a closer look. "That should fool people. But don't stick around for the cops. Beckett will probably still recognize your voice."

"I plan to check out right after my appointment." He handed her a packet. "Here's your I.D. and hotel info. Good luck." Alex smiled, kissed Sloan on the cheek, grabbed her bag and left.

* * *

Alex picked up the massage table and supplies in the hotel's employee locker room. While there, she took a couple minutes to transfer her knife, the water bottles of bleach, and her change of clothes into the supplies bag. Grabbing her things, she was glad she'd spent a lot of time in the past month lifting weights; the table was very heavy. Alex ran into Sloan in the lobby. He headed up to his room with a carry on and they ended up sharing the elevator on the way up. Two businessmen from Texas were in the elevator with them. From the conversation between the two, it sounded as though they were in town for a telecommunications conference of some kind.

Alex's first appointment was with a lady from Tucson, Arizona. She was also in town for the conference, so Alex got an earful about it throughout the hour-long session. It was only the twenty dollar tip at the end that made the experience even close to bearable. Next up was Zoratti.

Zoratti clearly was expecting someone else when he opened the door. "Heather…You're not Heather. Where's my normal masseuse?"

"I believe she's sick. I was scheduled to take her appointments today." Alex smiled. "My name is Nicole."

Zoratti sighed. "Fine. Come on in. You can set up here." He went into the bedroom of his suite. Alex hung a Do Not Disturb sign on the door and set up the table, taping her knife to the underside. She was setting up the oils, stones, and towels when he emerged wearing nothing but a bath towel around his waist.

"Go ahead and lie down on the table, Mr. Zoratti." He lay face down on the table with the towel draped over his backside. "Is there anywhere we need to focus on today?"

Zoratti shrugged. "I suppose my shoulders are a little sore. It's been a stressful few days."

Alex got some oil on her hands to begin. "Would you mind telling me about it?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"If I know the kind of stress you're under, I can target those stressors and help your muscles to relax. So, what has been stressing you lately?"

Zoratti paused as if deciding whether she could be trusted. "Well, I suppose most of it comes down to a girl."

Alex started to massage his shoulders. "Tell me about her."

"She's absolutely gorgeous. She's tall, slender, and has the most amazing hair and eyes. She couldn't make it as a runway model, but just by looking at her, you can tell she's incredibly smart and driven. And she's a cop." He sighed. "I met her a month ago, but she keeps turning me down."

The fact that he'd continued to pursue Beckett was news to Alex. "That must be frustrating."

Zorrati started to talk in earnest. "At first it was at this nightclub. Then the flower guy couldn't catch her at her home when he delivered. Then I'd find the ones I delivered to her office in the dumpsters out back. I mean, I'm not an unattractive man. What doesn't she see in me?"

"Perhaps she's in a relationship."

Zoratti snorted. "She's dating a mystery novelist. He's not even that good looking. And he can't give her what I can. I can take her all over the world at a moment's notice if she wanted. All he does is follow her around at work like a lost puppy. If she were with me, she could have a new adventure every day. Why on Earth wouldn't she want that?"

Alex wiped off her hands and set a heated stone on each of his shoulders. "I can't speak for her."

"Do you find me attractive?"

Alex teased the knife from its hiding space. "Not really, Mr. Sinatra." And she stabbed, covering his mouth with a towel so his scream wouldn't be heard. At first he fought, the stones rolling off his shoulders and onto the carpeted floor. Alex twisted the knife and Zoratti's body stiffened as he went into shock. Now that he was immobilized, she stabbed him twice more, hitting major arteries to make sure he wouldn't suffer for long. "You're lucky I'm the one killing you. The man who trained me wouldn't be nearly as kind."

Alex turned away when Zoratti passed out. She grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom, poured some bleach on it, and wiped down all the bottles, stones, and surfaces she had touched, erasing her fingerprints before she took a shower to wash off Zoratti's blood. Unfortunately, the makeup Paulo had applied that morning was washed off as well. _I'll have to use the fire escape to leave._ Disappointed, she pulled off the prosthetic pieces and threw them in the trashcan.

After she dried off, she put on the change of clothes and shoved the clothes she had been wearing into the trashcan liner with her prosthetic pieces. She then removed the Do Not Disturb sign from the suite's front door and wiped it down too. Another trashcan liner was stuffed with the towels Alex had handled. Both liners were shoved into the bag she had brought up with her. She wrapped the knife in the ice bucket liner and added that to the bag too. Then she dumped the contents of both bottles of bleach into the tub and the bathroom floor to eliminate any DNA left behind from the shower. With one last sweep of the hotel room, Alex picked up the bag and left, taking the fire escape to exit the hotel and avoid all the cameras.

* * *

Beckett pulled up outside The Muse New York to see News cameras were already there. She badged her way through the police line, Castle at her side. The paparazzi were on her heels, begging for a statement. She ignored them, meeting up with Ryan and Esposito; together they headed up to the crime scene. Within minutes, the group arrived at the scene and ducked under the tape in the doorway to find Lanie already examining the body.

She glanced up as they approached. "Meet Mr. Francesco Zoratti, fashion designer. Looks like someone wanted him dead bad."

Beckett raised her eyebrow as she pulled on her gloves. "Ya think?"

"Prelim suggests Shadow Fox, but I'll have to do wound molds to confirm it was her. And you're not likely to get any prints or DNA; it looks and smells like she wiped the place down with bleach."

"She sure made a bloody mess. From the table, I'm guessing she posed as a masseuse to gain access."

Castle was looking at their vic's face. "Zoratti was the name on the will she looked at. You think it's the same guy?"

Beckett nodded. "Too much of a coincidence to not be. I wonder why she needed to look at his will before she killed him."

"Maybe that was part of the contract." Castle straightened up. "The client tells her to peek at the will, checking on some key point. If that point was written the way the client wants, the hit gets the green light, and Alex takes him out." He paused, watching Beckett. "What?"

Beckett was looking at Zoratti's face now. "I've seen him before. I don't know where, but for some reason I feel like I've met him."

Ryan was looking at Zoratti's wallet. "Could he be the guy who's been sending you flowers? That Franc Z guy? I've got a receipt from a flower shop for a delivery to the precinct."

"Maybe. Where have I seen him before?"

* * *

Alex got back to the safe-house first, so she booted up Sloan's computers and accessed the file on Zoratti. She selected the most revealing of Zoratti's email and social media posts to print out. Even though Beckett's name was never mentioned directly, it became obvious that he had truly begun to hate someone throughout the past month. When she was done with that, Alex pulled up the security footage from the nightclub and selected a couple frames that best told the story.

She was just finishing printing everything out when the door opened. "I see your disguise didn't last. Bloody job?"

Alex nodded but didn't turn away from her task. "I'm just putting together a file to send to Beckett."

"That would explain the gloves." Sloan set down his bag. "Are you telling her that Zoratti was trying to have her killed?"

"Yep." Alex set down the stills to dry. "At least now she can keep her eyes peeled for any suspicious activity." She vacated the chair. "You can have your world back now."

Sloan chuckled. "Anything you need me to look at?"

Alex took a blank piece of paper out of the printer and wrote, "He wanted you dead" in big block letters. "See if Sinatra's friend has hit the Big Apple yet."

"Give me a couple of hours, I'll let you know."

Alex filled a blank file folder with the documents and photos she'd printed. "While you're doing that, I'm going to make sure this gets delivered." She slipped the folder into a manila envelope and addressed it to Detective Beckett. "Any suggestions on a bike messenger service?"

"Try Security. I hear Wilee's their best."

* * *

When Beckett's team returned to the precinct a couple hours later, they had learned a lot about the kind of man Zoratti had been, but very little about how he'd died. They were trying to locate Nicole Downland, the masseuse who'd been scheduled to give Zoratti his massage. No one from the hotel knew her, but her credentials were on the hotel's employment database as a recent transfer from Firesky Resort & Spa, another hotel in the Kimpton Hotels line, so Beckett figured she must be too new to this location for people to have met her. The boys had interviewed Downland's first client of the day, a lady from Tucson, who'd simply said Nicole had great hands and was very good at listening. Downland had clocked out after Zoratti's massage, but that was hardly a strange thing to do; after all, she'd had no other clients scheduled for the rest of the day.

Beckett set up the board and went to her desk; a manila envelope was resting on her keyboard. She opened the envelope to find a folder with surveillance video stills of a nightclub scene. In the photo, Beckett saw that she was standing at the bar and Zoratti was sidling up to her. Beckett turned to the next image and saw that she was walking away from the bar; behind her, Zoratti's face was twisted with hatred. The rest of the file was full of documents, many of them showing social media and email, the contents of which illustrated that he had started to dislike Beckett after the nightclub and then hate her when his attempts to sway her had failed. The note in the back of the folder confirmed where Beckett's thoughts were going.

"'He wanted you dead'." Castle read the note from over Beckett's shoulder. "Who?"

Beckett showed him the first still. "Zoratti apparently. Now I know where I remember him from. It was that sting at Ella where we arrested Leonard Kelley. He hit on me at the bar and I shut him down."

"About a month ago?" Beckett nodded. "I think I was just getting there when you arrested Kelley. You guys saw and cornered him before you needed my grand entrance to distract him. If I remember correctly, you decided to sleep at your apartment that night because you said, and I quote, 'You looked like you were enjoying yourself with that blonde bimbo too much.'"

"I did apologize for that."

Castle sat back with a smile on his face as he remembered that night. "Yes, you did."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Moving on. What is Alex trying to say by sending us this? Is she trying to justify her actions?" Beckett paused. "'He wanted you dead.' Zoratti's not the type to get his hands dirty. If Alex is right, and this guy really did want me dead, he's the type to hire someone else to do it." Beckett shuffled through the papers again and pulled out one that didn't look like a social media site. "He did. Someone named Clint Asendorf."

"That must be him."

"Hunh?"

Castle motioned his hand in a circle. "Flip over the paper."

Beckett flipped over the page and saw a slightly blurry surveillance still. "If this is the guy Zoratti hired, why did she target Zoratti? Why not just kill the guy he hired?"

"Well, if Zoratti is dead, he can't hire someone else." Another thought occurred to Castle. "Or, maybe she can't. Maybe she feels that the hired gun is too hard to kill."

"The will." Castle turned a blank look to his fiancée. "She looked at his will to make sure the contract would die when the client did. I'm betting that with Zoratti dead, this Asendorf guy can't get paid for killing me."

"Don't assassins get paid in advance? Rathborne did, and it looks like the Shadow Fox does too."

"Because that's the way they work. Who's to say all assassins work that way?"

Castle shrugged. "Maybe. Regardless, I'm keeping an eye on you. Can you at least wear that vest I got you?"

Beckett smiled. "Fine."

* * *

**A/N: What happens now? Leave me a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Thanks to phnxgrl and LadyAilith for their reviews. And now for the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Sloan didn't even turn around as Alex walked in. "Asendorf is in town, but I doubt he'll try anything. The Feds have put a tail on him and Zoratti's death has been all over the news."

"That won't last long. Tails are easy to slip."

"But he knows he's under surveillance. I pulled this from a traffic camera ten minutes ago."

Alex leaned in for a closer look. "Yeah, he's spotted them. They're not very good at hiding, are they?"

Sloan chuckled as he shook his head. "By now he's probably given them the slip, but I think he knows he won't be getting a fat payday."

"Good." Alex opened her bag and pulled out the knife. "Keep an eye on him. If he does find out we're behind exposing him, I may have to fight him after all."

Sloan paled. "Alex…"

"Link, he's not the type to forgive and forget. I may not have a choice. Hopefully he doesn't find out. Then I won't have to face him."

"Okay, okay. Just be careful near him."

"I have no intention of going anywhere near him without reason." Alex spread out her tools for cleaning her knife. "That's why you're watching him. You can do it remotely."

Sloan went back to his computers and Alex got busy cleaning her knife. Once she was done, she grabbed a match, lighter fluid, and her bag and went up to the roof of the building. After checking that the coast was clear, she uncovered her makeshift fireplace: an old empty oil drum with a custom-built, chimney-style lid. She emptied the plastic trashcan liners into the oil drum, letting the towels and bloody clothes settle on the bottom while she doused them with the lighter fluid. She struck a match and dropped it in the drum. After the initial flash of the fluid catching, Alex put the lid over the top to make sure anyone seeing the smoke would simply dismiss it as the exhaust fumes from one of the ground floor businesses and not a trashcan fire.

Alex took a book she'd picked up on her way home out of a side pocket of her bag. It was James Patterson's latest in the Alex Cross series. She wasn't the biggest fan of Patterson, but he did write compelling storylines and they were good to read when she needed to pass the time keeping an eye on the fire in the drum. Settling into a spot near the blaze, she flipped open the book and started to read.

* * *

Kate squirmed to readjust the vest Rick had bought for her when it was possible Blackwell would hire someone to kill her. _This thing is like a corset_. As nice as it was to have a vest that could hide under her clothes, the vest was constricting and uncomfortable.

Rick saw her squirm. "Next time we'll make sure it's fitted to you."

Kate let her temper get the better of her. "What do you mean 'next time'?"

"I meant, if we ever have to replace that vest, I'll make sure the next one is fitted better. So it'll be more comfortable."

The light turned green and Kate turned onto their street. "There isn't going to be a next time. I don't need to wear the vest."

"Kate…"

"No, Castle. I'm a cop; I'll be fine without it." Castle fell silent and Kate was worried she'd crossed a line. "Look, I'll be fine. Gates has already posted a detail outside the building. No one is going to hurt us. You don't need to worry about me."

"Worrying about you is my job. I'm your partner, and your fiancée. I don't want to lose you, and if there is anything I can do to protect you, I will do it."

"You're not going to lose me."

"I thought I had once." The last sentence came out so softly, Kate wondered if she had heard him speak at all. She was about to ask when he continued. "At Roy's funeral. When you got shot, I felt like I'd been the one to take that bullet. I thought I was going to lose you, and that thought made me wish that I had been shot too, just so I wouldn't have to live with the pain. Don't put me through that again."

Kate pulled the car into the building's underground parking garage. "Rick, I'll be fine." She held up her hand as he started to protest. "But, if you really do have your heart set on buying me a new vest, I'd suggest that you do it sooner rather than later. This one is not worth the discomfort."

Rick smiled and they got out of the car to go inside.

* * *

Beckett arrived at the precinct the next morning to find Ryan and Esposito looking through mug shots on Ryan's computer. Leaving them to their task, she took the time to hang up her coat and check her email and phone messages that had come in after she'd left the night before. She was just heading to the break room for a coffee when Ryan got excited.

"That's him. That's the guy."

Beckett detoured to his desk. "Who's the guy?"

Ryan pointed to the board. "The same guy was in all the videos. Whenever that cell phone called one of the payphones, this guy was there to pick up. Now, obviously, we couldn't get any useable prints from the phones themselves, but having his face gave us something to work with. This is our suspect."

Esposito chimed in. "Lucky us, he has an extensive rap sheet to go with his mug. This guy could easily be convinced to become a gun for hire."

Beckett leaned in to read. "Joseph Higbee. Armed robbery, assault, assault with a deadly weapon. Never did much time for any of those charges. Where is he now?"

Ryan clicked on a link. "That's the problem. It looks like he fell off the grid after he got out last. There's a bench warrant out on him for a parole violation. I'll call his parole officer and see if I can get something." Ryan pulled up the information for the parole officer and picked up his phone.

Esposito followed Beckett into the break room. "Where's Castle?"

"He's calling Gina to rework his book tour schedule. I don't think he really cares where his stops are as long as the San Francisco stop lines up with Alexis' spring break." Beckett poured herself a cup of coffee. "Where are we on Zoratti?"

"Hotel sent us over the security tapes this morning after they got the warrant you faxed them last night. Ryan was going to watch them after we I.D.'d the guy who picked up the phone."

"Hopefully we can get a look at the mysterious Nicole Downland." Beckett took a sip. "You know, I think Downland might be Alex. She's the only employee from the hotel we couldn't find to interview, and despite the amazing credentials, it wouldn't be the first time Alex has electronically infiltrated a network."

"Makes sense." Castle walked in and helped himself to some coffee.

"You're looking chipper."

Castle grinned and did a little dance. "I won. Gina switched my Denver stop with the San Francisco stop. Now I get to visit with my Pumpkin."

Beckett smiled. "Good."

"You should come with me, at least for that stop. Two days in San Fran; clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl down on the wharf, take in a tour of Alcatraz, a personalized tour of Ghirardelli. What do you say?"

"Sure. That sounds like fun."

Ryan came into the break room. "Higbee fell off the grid about a month after he got out. That was six months ago."

Castle took a sip. "He was out in plenty of time to commit the murder."

Beckett nodded. "Javi, check out his contacts, known associates, everything. I want to know if he's connected to Alex or Ewan in any way, shape, or form."

Esposito nodded. "On it."

"Ryan, get to work on that surveillance footage from The Muse. I want to know what Downland looks like and exactly where she is when Zoratti was being killed by lunchtime."

* * *

Alex had spent most of the morning hanging out on the rooftop across from the precinct. After she'd been shot, the entire precinct had been treated to a thorough search looking for any bugs or the like. They'd found five; one each at the three detective's desks, one in Gates' office, and one in Beckett's phone. Last night, Alex had snuck back in to plant a new set of bugs in key listening points. Unfortunately, even though the bugs were able to pick up a wider range of sound, making it easier to hide them in unexpected places, the broadcast range for this set was very short, necessitating the uncomfortably close stakeout position. _Next time, I'm planting better bugs_.

Alex was worried about the information she'd overheard today when she got home. "Link, does the name Joseph Higbee mean anything to you?"

Sloan tensed. "Why do you ask?"

"It seems that the Fantastic Four found him when they matched surveillance footage near several payphones to a mug shot of the guy."

"That's impossible." Sloan spun his chair around. "I made sure those payphones were nowhere near any traffic cameras."

"What about storefront cameras?"

Sloan hesitated. "I hadn't thought of that."

Alex shook her head. "You have to think of everything, Link. That's why I don't do a job without extensive surveillance first. I figure out where the cameras are, where security or police are, potential pitfalls and escape routes. By thinking of all the variables, you can figure out how to avoid getting caught. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but at least you've lowered the risks."

"Like with Zoratti. We had to know everything about him to both kill him and stop Asendorf from getting to Beckett."

"Exactly. Now, who is Joseph Higbee, and are we vulnerable now that the cops are looking for him?"

"Higbee is a nobody." Sloan turned back to his computers. "He's a low level thug; mostly armed robbery and assault."

"Is he connected to us?"

"No. I never met with him face to face. It was always over the phone or through email. The email account I used was untraceable and whenever I spoke to him, I used my Southern accent and never used names. They won't be able to link anything to us."

"So we're not vulnerable."

"No, but I failed to protect Higbee. That's on me."

"Don't beat yourself up. You're still getting used to thinking of everything." Alex sighed and went to the kitchen. "I feel like making spaghetti. Want some?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Got her." Ryan called over to Beckett. "I've got a clear view of Nicole Downland."

Beckett crossed the bullpen to Ryan's desk. "Let's see her."

Ryan moved out of the way and Beckett leaned down for a good look. The hair was a dark auburn color and fell to just below her shoulders. Downland's face was slender, very angular and pointed, giving her elven features. Her skin was pale, her cheeks were covered in freckles and her eyes were a brilliant green. Beckett was confused; she had expected to see a disguised version of Alex, but this girl looked nothing like her.

"She must be one of Alex's partners. Does Alex show up on the surveillance at all?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not yet, but I'll keep looking."

Beckett turned to Esposito's desk. "Where are you on the contacts for Higbee?"

Esposito leaned back in his chair. "I can't connect him to Alex yet. I'm waiting on a warrant for his phone records and email accounts."

"Uniforms bring Higbee in yet?"

"They found him in an SRO in Brooklyn. They're bringing him in now."

Castle stepped off the elevator with a bag of take-out containers. "Who's hungry?"

* * *

**A/N: Not much action in this chapter, but lots of information. I'm working on writing up/editing the next case, so there shouldn't be any delays in posting it. Thoughts? Leave me a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Thanks to phnxgrl for her review. Somethimes a filler chapter is all you really need to pace out the case a little. I think this chapter wraps up this case. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Beckett stood in the Observation Room watching Joseph Higbee. He had clearly been in this chair before and had actually grown very comfortable with it. He looked very relaxed and was busy picking at his cuticles while he waited for someone to come in.

Castle was standing at her shoulder. "He is way too comfortable in that room. How do you plan on breaking him?"

"With his record, I doubt he'll break easily. We do know he was the recipient of those phone calls to the payphones, so I can use that. And Esposito got his warrant for Higbee's records, so I'll inform him that we're going through them with a fine toothed comb." Ryan walked in. "Did you find anything?"

Ryan shook his head. "Alex isn't on any of the tapes, but that doesn't mean she wasn't at the hotel. There are plenty of blind spots to hide in and the tapes aren't heavily encrypted, so they could have easily been tampered with. I was going to go over the footage from Grand Central again to see if I could find Higbee on it."

"Okay, thanks Ryan." Beckett sighed as Ryan left. "That means Zoratti's case can officially join the other open Shadow Fox cases. Come on; let's try to get Higbee to talk." Beckett walked out of the Observation Room and entered I1. "Joseph Higbee. Armed robbery, assault, assault with a deadly weapon. You like being a violent guy, don't you?"

Higbee shrugged. "So?"

"So it's not much of a stretch for you take it up to the next level."

"And what's that?"

"Murder." Castle stared straight at him.

Higbee chuckled. "If I did, do I get to be in your next book?"

"Stop messing around, Higbee. We know you were hired to kill Salley Anne Ashcraft." Beckett slapped down the pictures of Higbee at the payphones. "We know this is how you communicated. We have the phone records for the phone that called each of these payphones, and every time there was a call, you were there to pick up. You want to tell us about this?"

Higbee shrugged again. "It's illegal to make a phone call? I hadn't realized payphones were that out of style."

Castle was getting frustrated. "Cut the crap…"

Beckett put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax." She turned to Higbee. "Let's not make this harder than it has to be. My team is going through your life with a fine toothed comb. Email, financial records, phone records, we're going through it all. So why don't you just save us the trouble and tell me who hired you."

Higbee grinned. "Well, I hope you enjoy digging, because I want my lawyer."

Beckett and Castle stood and left the room. She'd been afraid of that. Higbee was no stranger to the interrogation room rodeo, so it was no surprise that he'd lawyered up. She had just hoped that he would somehow implicate himself before that point.

"Tell me you have something we can use against him."

Esposito looked up. "I found a few emails he received that told him where the payphone was and when to be there. Bad news is, I had I.T. run it and they came back with nada. It's an untraceable account."

Ryan shook his head. "Phone records were a bust too. No one calls him that isn't in his contact lists. Most off his contacts have shady reputations too, but none of them are connected to Alex, Ewan or the mystery caller."

Esposito pulled up a new window. "I'll check through his financial records."

Beckett went to her desk. "I'm gonna type up a search warrant for his home. Give me something to justify it."

A few minutes later, Esposito printed out a page. "Got something. Here; he receives two payments from the same account." He set the page down on Beckett's desk and highlighted two lines. "The first is after the first phone call for two thousand dollars. The second was after the last phone call for eight thousand. And get this, the account is the same one that paid Collado and Ashcraft."

"Perfect." Beckett finished typing and printed out the warrant. "Get this signed. We're going to need more evidence to prove our case. And find out who was attached to that account."

"On it."

"Ryan, what do you have?"

"Just getting started on the footage. I'll let you know."

* * *

The search of Higbee's home proved profitable. They found a gun and a blue die that matched the one from the Grand Central footage. CSU was busy processing the evidence when Beckett returned to the Interrogation Room.

Higbee's lawyer, Anna Terrado, was in there now. "Mr. Higbee would like to know under what grounds you had the right to search his residence."

Beckett sat down. "Your client received two payments totaling ten thousand dollars from the same account. That account recently paid a repeat trespasser two grand to scope out the location where Ashcraft's body was dumped. We had reason to believe that your client was also hired by the same person to kill Ashcraft."

"And what were you hoping to find?"

"Anything that may have belonged to Ashcraft and potential murder weapons. We found both."

Higbee lost some of his swagger at that, but his lawyer still did the talking. "Really? And what might that be?"

"A Ruger .38 Special, and a blue die that we know was in Ashcraft's possession before she died."

"Detective, if I remember the ballistics report correctly, the bullet removed from Ashcraft was actually from your gun. Now, I understand that you didn't kill that girl, but there is no way you could possibly connect the gun found at my client's home to this murder. You have him on a few parole violations, I'll give you that. But you have nothing to connect my client to Ashcraft."

Beckett smiled. "Just give me time." She stood and opened the door to I1. "Take him to booking for parole violations." The uniform outside nodded and entered the room as Beckett went back to the bullpen. "Please tell me you boys have something."

Ryan nodded. "It's not enough to prove he killed her, but Higbee was following Ashcraft through Grand Central. They both got on the 5 train, but I don't know where they got off."

"We don't have enough time to go through all the subway footage on that line. Anything else?"

"The account that paid everyone was under a false name, the bank doesn't have a photo of the account holder, and it was closed just after Ashcraft's murder." Esposito held up a folder. "Also, the lab finished processing the evidence collected at Higbee's."

Beckett flipped open the folder. "Gun has been fired recently, but ballistics can't confirm it was the murder weapon. The die on the other hand has Collado, Ashcraft, and Higbee's prints on it." She closed the folder.

Castle went to the board. "So, we know that the die found at Higbee's place is the same one Collado left at Grand Central and Ashcraft picked up."

"And Higbee probably took it from Ashcraft when he killed her, but possession of the die doesn't prove he killed her. Right now, the lawyer is right. This case is all circumstantial."

* * *

Alex took the earbud out of her ear and dialed Sloan's number. "Hey Link. Higbee isn't a friend of yours, right?"

"_No_."

"So you wouldn't truly be heartbroken if he went to jail for murder?"

Sloan hesitated. "_Why?_"

"Link, she was an innocent young girl who happened to resemble me. I can't let her death go without at least a tiny piece of the justice system being satisfied."

"_When did you develop a bleeding heart?_"

"Around the time I met you. Not that I didn't have one before that. Look, I may not go to jail for the people I killed, but the person who hires me usually does."

"_And?_"

"Link, do you love me or not?"

"_Oh, I never should have told you that_."

Alex smiled. "No, probably not. Look, I got to hear Higbee in interrogation. He's not like you or me. He doesn't care. There's no code of honor with this guy. Just help me out. Salley deserves to rest in peace."

Sloan sighed. "_Fine. The girl was shot in Romberg Apartments. 110 East 125__th__ St., apartment 5B. It's an abandoned building that was scheduled to be torn down two months ago but there's a battle over who actually owns the apartments, so lucky you, it's still standing. And in case you were wondering, I thought that if you ever found out about Ashcraft, you might do this, so I put a couple Nanny Cams in the apartment._"

"Thank you. You are officially forgiven now." Alex hung up and made her way to the street level in order to find a nearby payphone. She quickly inserted the necessary change and dialed the precinct's number.

"_Twelfth precinct, how may I direct your call?_"

Alex adopted a high pitched British accent. "The Homicide Department. Detective Ryan, please."

She was put on hold for a couple minutes as the call was transferred. "_Detective Ryan, Homicide_."

"Yes, I've heard on the news that you're investigating the Salley Anne Ashcraft murder. I think I might have some information for you."

* * *

"_I think I might have some information for you_."

Ryan snapped his fingers to get Beckett's attention. "And what information might that be?" Beckett picked up on Ryan's line to listen in.

"_Well, I saw on the news that Joseph Higbee was arrested for that. I recognized his picture. Well, I remember seeing him with that girl they say died months ago. They went into the Romberg Apartments together. I guess you could say it was more like he forced her to go inside. And I think I saw him holding a gun_."

Ryan was taking notes as he talked. "And where was this?"

"_110 East 125__th__ St. I remember because a friend of mine goes to the rehab center right next door. I didn't stick around to watch. Joey Higbee has a nasty reputation in this part of town."_

"What's your name?"

"_Young man, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather remain anonymous. I don't want any trouble from him. He can be very mean to old ladies like me. He's the reason my friend needed rehab in the first place_."

"I understand ma'am. And thank you for the tip."

* * *

It had taken a couple of hours, but finally they had finished searching the building and discovered which apartment in the vacant building Ashcraft had been killed in. Even better, CSU's sweep of the room had revealed a couple of Nanny Cams that appeared to have been left behind when the building had been abandoned. Ryan went straight to I.T. when they returned to the precinct to get the Nanny Cam footage transferred to a disc. Once that was completed, everyone stood behind Ryan as he watched the footage. For the most part, all the cameras had picked up was the room slowly getting brighter and darker as the sun rose and set. Beckett was about to leave Ryan to his task when there was finally movement on the screen.

Beckett smiled. "Print that and have Higbee brought up from holding."

* * *

Beckett watched from behind the glass as Higbee and his lawyer frantically whispered back and forth. She waited another minute before opening the door and going in.

Terrado jumped right in. "This is absurd, Detective. You have no proof. Why did you drag my client back up here?"

"I told you to give me time."

The lawyer scoffed. "Oh, right. So, what long shot have you pulled out of your hat today?"

"Oh, I don't think it's much of a long shot." Beckett started laying out stills of Higbee following Ashcraft through Grand Central. "Since you were in possession of a die that had been in her possession, it's logical to assume that these photos show you were following her."

Terrado started to interrupt. "Detective…"

Beckett held up a hand to silence her. "Now, I don't believe in coincidences, but juries just love them, so I know these will be seen as inconclusive. But these," Beckett laid a few photos of Ashcraft and Higbee in the abandoned apartment together on top of the Grand Central stills, "make it very clear that you are connected to her. And right there is the gun we recovered from your apartment."

Higbee shifted in his chair and leaned over to whisper to his lawyer. She nodded and turned to Beckett. "My client wishes to explain what happened."

"I can't wait to hear it."

Higbee straightened up. "I was just supposed to take the dice from her. It was part of a scavenger hunt type thing. Someone dropped off the dice, she picked it up, I was supposed to get it from her on the train and take it somewhere else. But she said she was supposed to bring me somewhere before I could take the dice from her."

Beckett laid down another photo. "Is that why she looks terrified and you're pointing a gun at her when you walk in the room?"

"I was starting to lose my temper, yeah. She wasn't following the instructions. But I'm telling you, I didn't kill her."

"Joseph, be careful."

Beckett smirked. "You really expect me to believe that?" Higbee nodded. "Then how do you explain this?" Beckett laid down the coup de grace. "Because all I see is you firing your gun and Ashcraft has clearly been shot in the shoulder."

"Because that's all I did!"

"Joseph, shut up!"

Beckett sat back. "Ashcraft bled out from that wound. What you may not know is that there is a major vein and artery system in your shoulder. If any part of that system is compromised, you can bleed out in a matter of minutes. I could show you the footage, but I think these pictures tell the story well enough. Joseph Higbee, you are under arrest for the murder of Salley Anne Ashcraft…"

Terrado jumped in. "My client would like to make a deal."

"Really? What could he possibly have to offer?"

"I can help lead you to the man who hired me."

Beckett wanted to shake her head in disbelief. "How?"

"I know the number he called me from."

Beckett consulted her notes. "Area code 212-555-2784?" Higbee paled. "Yeah, we got that phone from a bum who'd found it in a trash can in Highbridge Park. How do you think we figured out you were the one who killed Ashcraft in the first place?" Beckett gathered up the stills and opened the door. "Take him to booking for murder."

Castle met her as she returned to her desk. "That was incredible, as usual. You know, I think my ability to weave a story has rubbed off on you."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I was doing that long before I met you. I think my ability to use the **evidence** to tell the story has rubbed off on you."

Castle held up his hands in surrender. "We've rubbed off on each other. I now have a better understanding of the importance of evidence, and you can captivate an audience's attention better."

"Oh really?"

Castle nodded. "Absolutely. Earlier in our partnership, lawyers were more likely to interrupt you and make it harder for you to do your job. Now they're just as captivated as the perps."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going home for the night. Coming?"

"Yes."

* * *

Alex took the earbud out of her ear and smiled. Beckett had the evidence to put Higbee behind bars for a long time. Sure, the lawyer would try to suppress the evidence, but it didn't matter. At least Salley Anne Ashcraft's murderer would be in jail. Satisfied, Alex turned away from the precinct and went home.

* * *

**A/N: Yep, this one wraps up this case. What did you guys think of the first case of the sequel? Liked it, hated it, loved it? Let me know. The next few chapters are written up, so I should post the next chapter next week.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Here's the next case. Before we begin, I'd like to thank phnxgrl for her review. And now, enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 10

Rue threaded her way through the trees, looking for her partner. They had split up an hour ago to try and cover more ground, but he should have met up with her near the Bandshell twenty minutes ago. When he didn't show, she'd become concerned. After waiting another five minutes, Rue had decided to go look for him. She glanced at her watch again. It was just after midnight. She stopped for a moment to consider her options. The pager on her belt hadn't gone off yet, so the game wasn't over, but she really was worried; Thresh never missed a rendezvous. She considered heading for her group's endpoint. It would mean they forfeited this round, but it would also send a page to Thresh's pager and he would know where to go. He would be upset, but at least she would know that he was okay. _Yeah, I'll do that_.

Rue started heading for the East 65th Street exit of Central Park. _Maybe I'll run into him along the way and we won't have to forfeit_. Rue continued to glance around as she walked, hoping to spot her friend. She was so busy looking around that she wasn't watching where she was going and tripped. Rue turned around, expecting to see a sleeping bum or a large tree root. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight she did encounter.

* * *

Beckett pulled up outside the East 65th Street entrance of Central Park at a quarter after one in the morning. She'd still been up reviewing the Shadow Fox case when the call came in. She shook her head as she stepped out of the warm car. Despite her best efforts, she'd somehow let the case turn into her Mom's all over again. _I really need to put it aside_. Castle joined her at the tape and they ducked under it together. Esposito and Ryan were already there conducting interviews and Lanie was just arriving. Officer Torres was waiting for them.

"Good morning, Officer. Still working the graveyard shift?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm supposed to lead you in. We've tried to preserve the scene, but it's hard to tell which footprints are related to the crime and which ones were there earlier."

"Look at you. Getting ready for the Detective's exam?"

Torres smiled. "I'm taking it next month."

Lanie tugged her coat tighter as she reached them. "What was I thinking leaving the house without my really thick coat?"

"You've been on call most of the week. I'm going to say you're a little sleep deprived." Beckett rubbed her friend's back to make her feel better. The cold seemed to dampen everyone's desire to talk, so they walked in silence for several minutes before arriving at the body. Beckett actually stopped short at the sight. "Wow. What happened to him?"

The victim was lying face up in the snow. Blood had frozen on his face, which was covered in contusions and lacerations. His jacket was open, revealing a white shirt which was also bloodstained. Lanie set down her kit and knelt by the victim's side. She pulled on a pair of gloves and started searching his pockets.

She found his wallet in the back left. "I've got a wallet. Cash and cards still inside. I.D. says our victim is Richard Souza, 25. Looks like he took quite a beating." Lanie handed the wallet to Beckett. "I'm going to have to do an autopsy to know how badly."

Beckett looked at the I.D. "This address puts him in Staten Island. What's he doing in the city at this time of night?"

Castle addressed Lanie while he was looking at the footprints in the snow. "Do you think he might have been ganged up on?"

"It's certainly a possibility."

Beckett was looking at a wider circle. "It may not be a big group. I've only got what looks like three distinct sets of footprints besides the path we took. We may be looking for only two attackers."

"Two is all it would take." Lanie closed the front of the victim's jacket. "What's this?" She pointed to armbands on each of the victim's arms.

"'5'." Castle looked up at Beckett. "What do you think that means? Could there be more victims?"

Beckett shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't heard of another case like this." The coroner's assistants arrived. "Let's see what the boys have found out."

They returned to the park entrance to see a large crowd had gathered around Esposito and Ryan. Beckett pointed to a couple in the crowd. They also had armbands, but theirs said '2'.

Ryan broke away from the crowd and met them as they approached. "I'm going to warn you right now, this case is a little strange."

Castle smirked. "Strange how?"

"We're looking at the first death in the secret, weekly Hunger Games tournament. Apparently this has been going on since the first movie came out in 2012. Three years later and they're still going strong."

Beckett looked skeptical. "I thought the Hunger Games was a fight to the death."

"Well, this group changed it so that it's more like capture the flag." Ryan opened his notebook. "The teams are chosen from a lottery; each team represents one of the five boroughs. Our victim is from Staten Island. His partner is over with the paramedics. She was the one who discovered the body."

"So the armbands are used to identify which borough they represent." Beckett surveyed the crowd again. "Who all are involved with the game?"

"Well, ten people are the players. The rest come from the pools as well, but they're selected to act as officials and they're paired up with someone from a different borough to ensure no one is cheating."

"So everyone has someone who can vouch for their whereabouts?"

Ryan pulled a face. "Well…the officials do. The players themselves work as a team, but they don't have to stay together the whole time. Some partnerships split up, like the vic and his partner did tonight. We're trying to get detailed accounts of their movements."

"How do they play?"

"Borough Four, Brooklyn, gave me the details. Everyone goes to a website early in the day to enter their name into the pool. At five o'clock, names are chosen from the pool for the tributes and officials. They have an hour to confirm they will be there. If at the end of that hour someone hasn't confirmed, new names are drawn and they have an hour to confirm. Everyone who confirms is sent an email telling them where in the park the 'Cornucopia', or starting line, will be. Everyone reports to the 'Cornucopia' by 8:30. Officials are paired up with a partner and sent to their designated posts. When the game begins, the teams try to grab clues with directions to the location of the flag from the 'Cornucopia'. When they find the flag, they have to bring it to their team's designated endpoint; the first team to do that wins the game."

"Who were the winners tonight?" Castle was watching the crowd.

"Borough Three, Queens. Glimmer and Marvel."

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Glimmer and Marvel?"

Ryan smiled. "Yeah. Competitors can pick out nicknames when they arrive if they want; gets them into the spirit of the Games. Our victim was Thresh and his partner is Rue."

Beckett turned to the group with armbands. "Where is Borough Three?"

"They're with Officer Torres. And I think we can rule them out as suspects."

Castle spotted them first. "Wow. They're tiny. They'd have to be on a major dose of PCP to do the kind of damage the victim sustained."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. And I've been looking at everyone's hands. No one has a mark on them."

"They could have used their feet." Beckett stepped back to let the gurney pass. "Lanie, do you think you'd be able to tell what kind of weapon was used to kill Souza?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." Beckett walked over to "Rue." "Hi, I'm Detective Beckett. Can I ask you some questions?"

The girl sniffed. "Yeah, sure."

"What's your name?"

"Katya Pavlat."

"I understand you were Richard's partner?"

"Yeah. We'd split up to try and cover more ground. When he didn't show up at the Bandshell, I was worried about him. He's usually never late. So I went looking for him. Why would someone hurt him like this?" She started to cry again.

"How well did you know him?"

"We'd been partnered together a few times before. We won the last time we were together. He was really good at this."

"Do you know if anyone had it out for him?"

"No." She wiped her eyes. "He was always so nice. Even the other boroughs liked him. A couple of people had said they wanted to be paired with him when the annual cross-borough games were held in the summer."

"How long has he been a part of this group?"

"From the beginning. He was one of the founders of the group. So was tonight's Katniss. Her name is Amy Overholt from Borough One."

"And that is?"

"Manhattan. I'm from Staten Island."

"Borough Five." Beckett finished writing. "I'm going to need to get a detailed account of where you've been and what you saw. Can you do that for me?"

Katya nodded. "Sure."

Beckett took a spare notebook and pen out of her coat pocket. "Write down everything you remember, starting with when you got here. I'll collect it from you later."

"Okay."

Beckett moved to the team from Borough Three. "Hi, I'm Detective Beckett. Can I ask you a couple questions?"

The girl seemed to be the spokesperson for the team. "I'm Jessica Vasquez, this is Carlos. We just want you to know we'll tell you everything we know."

"That's very helpful." Beckett turned to the boy. "You're Carlos…"

"Estrada. This is my first time out."

"Must be quite a shock for you. Did you know the victim very well?"

He shook his head. "No. I only met him tonight."

Jessica cut in. "We didn't see much of District Five after everyone left the Cornucopia. Thresh likes to ambush teams near the lake, but that's off limits this time of year. The Gamemaker doesn't want anyone getting sick from the cold."

"I'm not a Hunger Games enthusiast, so you're going to need to translate things into plain English. What's the Gamemaker?"

"He keeps track of where everyone is in the park. Here," Jessica handed Beckett a pager, "this is the GPS and pager unit. Everyone playing has to wear them, even the officials."

"Who is the Gamemaker and where can I find him?"

"Right here." Beckett turned around to see a young man in a suit and wool overcoat. "My name is Tobias Pierno. I came as soon as I heard what happened. Whatever you need, Detective, it's yours."

"Glad to hear that. I'm going to need all the tracking data from tonight's game as well as a list of all the people in the park tonight. And I'm going to need a complete list of members."

Tobias nodded. "I'll make sure to include past members. I've got to warn you though, there are a lot of people on that list."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're not a closed group. Anyone who has heard of us and registers can play. Every week, we have about twenty to fifty people who put their names into the drawing for their borough, but the names aren't always the same week to week. The participants come and go when they can."

"Ballpark it for me."

Tobias shook his head. "Without the lists in front of me, I couldn't possibly. We've been holding these Games weekly for three years. The numbers could easily be in the thousands by now."

Castle glanced over the crowd that had gathered. "So that means we're in a city full of suspects."

Beckett sighed. "I'm going to need some coffee."

* * *

**A/N: With the Hunger Games enthusiasm and "Castle's" knack for crazy cases, I figured it was time for a little Hunger Games: Castle Style. Tell me what you think! Liked it, too weird? Let me know!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: First off, I'd like to thank Quillcox for their review. Welcome to the story! I'm glad you like it. I'd also like to thank phnxgrl for her review. I won't be spending too much time on the Hunger Games portion of the case, but it did give me something interesting to work with. And now, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Beckett headed down to autopsy right after she checked in the next morning. Lanie was just finishing up with their victim. She looked up and nodded before making the last stitch to close him up. Stripping off her gloves, she grabbed the chart and stifled a yawn.

Beckett smiled. "Didn't get much sleep last night?"

Lanie shook her head. "Nope. Where's your man?"

"Still asleep when I left." Beckett looked at the victim. "Doesn't look as bad now that he's been cleaned up."

"Don't let his outsides fool you. He suffered massive internal hemorrhaging from the beating he took. Without immediate medical treatment, he didn't stand a chance."

"Was a weapon used?"

Lanie shook her head. "Just hands and feet. Mostly hands. From the bruises, I'm guessing just one guy did all the damage. And before you ask, none of last night's participants were responsible."

Beckett looked up. "How do you know?"

"Before I left, I asked one of the CSU's to get the impressions of every participant's fists, as well as photos. None of the bruises match." Lanie handed over her report. "I know you'll verify that, but my professional opinion says that your killer wasn't in the crowd last night."

"Could it have been Tobias Pierno, the Gamemaker?"

Lanie shook her head again. "No, I got his impressions too."

Beckett nodded. "Thanks Lanie."

Lanie yawned again. "No problem. I think I'm gonna go and crash for a couple hours."

Beckett smiled. "Get some sleep." Beckett headed back upstairs to get the board started. As she stepped off the elevator, she was greeted by a wall of noise. The bullpen was crowded with last night's participants who were giving their statements to a collection of detectives and cops. Beckett started slowly threading her way through the crowd to her desk, where Castle met her with her usual cup of coffee.

Ryan beckoned them into the Conference Room. "Mr. Pierno came through with the GPS data from last night's game."

Tobias pointed out the locations on the screen. "This is the Cornicopia, Cleopatra's Needle. I had Weston Locken from Manhattan and Todd Merrill from Queens as officials there. Paul Bronson from Manhattan and Kathleen Tran from Staten Island were at the East 85th entrance looking for the Borough Two tributes. Borough One was supposed to report to the West 86th entrance, where I'd stationed Dana Baird from Staten Island and Annika Hall from the Bronx. Hillary Boiteux from Brooklyn and Kenny Manzon from the Bronx were covering the East 65th entrance where Borough Five was assigned to report. Borough Three reported to the West 77th entrance where Bruce Edison from Queens and Valerie Shaver from Brooklyn were waiting. And Borough Four met at the West 66th entrance."

"Who was there?"

"Right, sorry. Um, Danette Bremmer from Manhattan and Jerica Anderson from Brooklyn."

"What about the players?" Castle was still looking at the screen.

"These two are Borough One. You can tell by the first digit in the code number. Borough Two are here, Borough Three here, Borough Four here, and Borough Five here. The officials are the code numbers that start with six."

Beckett nodded. "And this is at the start of the game?"

Tobias nodded. "Just before nine; that's when the game starts. If no one gets the flag to their checkpoint by three in the morning, there isn't a winner that week. Usually the game is over by eleven. Last night's game went a little long."

Ryan hit play and the GPS dots started darting around the screen. Six sets of dots remained stationary at the various checkpoints, the other five moved through the park. Occasionally two pairs would collide with each other briefly, but team five was never apart when this happened. Eventually the pair split up; one headed to the Hecksher Playground and the other stayed at the ball fields.

Tobias suddenly sat up. "Wait, go back a little."

Ryan rewound the playback. "Something wrong?"

"One of the GPS dots dropped out. There." Tobias pointed as the dot showed up again. "That's Timothy Ha, Borough Four. I didn't notice it last night, but watching it again I did. Play it forward in real time." Ryan obliged. "And it drops out right…there."

Beckett glanced at the time-code. "11:36pm. Before the victim's T.O.D. and not far from him. Esposito, if they're still here, pull him and his partner aside for questioning and get his GPS unit checked out."

"Copy that." Esposito stood and left the room.

"Let's keep watching."

Ryan started the playback again. The dot that headed to the playground started heading back to the Bandshell when it suddenly changed direction and started heading to the Borough Five checkpoint. When the dot reached the point where the victim's body had been found, the dot stopped moving. The other Borough Five dot had meandered near the ball fields for a while before heading to the rendezvous. After hanging out around there for a while, it also headed toward Borough Five's checkpoint. Eventually that dot collided with the victim's dot, and then rushed to the checkpoint.

"Well, that confirms 'Rue's' story. And everyone else has an alibi."

Castle turned away from the screen. "Something happened in that park. The victim was heading toward the rendezvous when he changed directions. He ran into someone. Someone that scared him."

Beckett nodded. "And that someone wanted him dead. Mr. Pierno, do other members of your club go to the park to watch the games?"

"They're not supposed to. I instituted the GPS system to try and cut down on that. Other members can watch the games online. I know it's not the same as in the movies, but at least they get to see some of the action."

"So it's possible some are watching up close and personal?"

Tobias shrugged. "I guess it's possible. Here, the list of past and present members." He held up a flash drive. "The names are in the order they joined. Most haven't been active in months. I hope this helps."

"Thank you." Beckett handed the drive to Ryan. "Get started on this. Start with the locals and spiral outward. Enlist whomever you can to do the canvass."

"You got it, boss."

Beckett shook Tobias' hand. "Thank you for all your help. If we need anything else, we'll let you know."

"And I'll be happy to help. Richard was a friend. Please, find his killer."

"We'll do everything we can." She watched Tobias leave before starting the board. "What do you think of him?"

"He's a little young for you."

"That's not what I'm asking."

Castle smiled. "I think he's smart, but he's not the killer; too soft. Whoever attacked Richard was upset. The attack practically screams rage, and I think it was personal. Most of the blows were to the head. Tobias didn't do it personally, and a hired killer wouldn't display that much rage."

Beckett nodded. "I agree. None of last night's competitors did it either. Lanie compared impressions of everyone's fists to the bruises and they didn't match." She started putting up the photos.

"So why'd you have Esposito track down the one with the faulty GPS signal?"

"That's to prevent the defense attorney from casting suspicion onto someone else. If we can prove he had an alibi, and that the lost signal was due to mechanical failure, the defendant won't be able to use him to muddy the waters." Beckett finished putting up the crime scene photos and started writing some notes.

Esposito walked in. "Annabeth Soyka alibied her partner. They both say they never separated during the game. I'm having I.T. process his GPS unit now."

"Good." Beckett capped the pen. "Go help Ryan with the list of members. I want to talk to anyone who's still in the Tristate area."

"On it."

* * *

Three hours later, they decided to take a break for lunch. Of the nearly five thousand names, four thousand of them were still in the Tristate area. None of them wanted to make thousands of phone calls to set up interviews, so they decided to call in Tobias' help again. The records he had given them were fairly detailed, which would be helpful to narrowing down the list. The problem was some things were in code.

Beckett made the call while Castle went to make the lunch run. "Mr. Pierno, it's Detective Beckett. I'd like to ask you a few more questions."

"_Sure. What do you need to know?_"

"I've been looking over the spreadsheet. You're notes are very detailed."

"_Thank you_."

"I was hoping you could explain a couple of them."

"_Sure_."

"There's a column labled '#XP.' What is that?"

"_Number of times played. And '#W' is number of wins_."

"What about 'DP'?"

"_Dates played. Sorry, that's a different document, I should have included it. I'll email it to you if it's small enough. I may have to message you another flash drive_."

"Out of curiosity, why do you keep all of this information?"

Tobias chuckled. "_The hardcore players like to know their stats. I guess it's like any athlete wanting to keep track of what they do_."

"Thanks for your help."

"_Anytime_."

A uniform handed Beckett the I.T. report on the GPS unit. "Thanks." She opened the folder. "I.T. says the battery died. That's why the signal cut out."

Castle walked in with the lunch. "Easy enough answer. Here, I got Italian." The boys grabbed containers and the group moved back into the Conference Room.

Beckett sat down and opened her Chicken Penne. "I've been thinking about the tracking system. We only had CSU canvas the area around the scene. We need to go back and reconstruct the events in the park last night."

Esposito nodded. "Follow the path 'Thresh' and 'Rue' took, see if we can find anything that might have belonged to the killer."

"Maybe Gates will approve you calling in a few extra sets of eyes."

Beckett swallowed. "What are you thinking about, Castle?"

"I'm thinking we should call in some Police Academy Recruits. They can follow the paths the other players took. It could help us figure out which players may have seen something useful."

"I'll run it by her. Calling CSU back out there will probably upset her though. She may not be willing to pull in the recruits."

Ryan shrugged. "I don't see why not. Extra sets of eyes in this weather can be really useful. Not to mention it will give the recruits a chance to get some fieldwork under their belts before they graduate."

"The biggest problem is that most of the park was left open to the public. Only a small section was roped off as the crime scene." Beckett pointed on the map on the board. "Until this morning, we had no idea that almost the entire park was used for the games. There's no way we can close the park now."

"Beckett's right. Whatever evidence we find now is tainted. But that doesn't mean we can't use it to identify the killer." Esposito balled up his napkin and lobbed it into the trashcan.

Beckett shrugged. "I'll go ask."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave me a review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox and southerngirl1 for their reviews. Quillcox, I'll keep that in mind :). And to answer your question, Castle woke up after Beckett left the loft and arrived at the precinct while she was talking to Lanie. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Beckett got the extra bodies. By 2pm, a group of fresh faced recruits were assembled at Cleopatra's Needle ready to work. Despite the chill in the air, the recruits looked excited. For many of them, this was their very first field exercise. _I remember feeling this excited when I was at the academy_. Little did they know how tedious field exercises could be.

"Thank you for coming out today; I know it's a little cold and you'd probably rather be inside right about now. Have you all been told what it is we're doing today?" The recruits nodded and Becket continued. "We're going to split you off into pairs and give you a route to take. A CSU tech will be joining you. I want you to make notes when you see other groups. If you see something that looks like it might have come from the Game, have the tech photograph and bag it. Basically, we're trying to figure out what happened last night."

Esposito split them up into groups and handed out maps. "These maps and directions are time coded. Try to follow it as closely as possible to ensure accurate observations. Everybody ready?" They nodded. "Go."

Beckett and company took Borough Five's route and started walking. They headed South from the Needle past Belvedere Castle to the lake. They followed the shore of the lake past the Leob Boathouse and stopped for a few minutes by the Bathesda Fountain. From there they went South again until they reached the Bandshell.

"According to Katya and the GPS, they stopped here for close to half an hour." Beckett put the map in her pocket. "Let's search the area, find out why."

The team meandered around the Bandshell. The snow in the area had been disturbed, but from the amount of dirt in the snow, it wasn't recent. When they came up with nothing, Beckett's team resumed following the map. "Rue" and "Thresh" had gone North again to Cherry Hill and resumed following the shoreline of the lake.

They were approaching a very crowded Strawberry Fields when Beckett stopped walking. She was sure she'd just seen Alex, but there were so many people here, her sight line had just been blocked. _Of course, it's December eighth_. She stood staring at the same spot, oblivious to her team's attempts to capture her attention.

Finally, the group moved. "That's Alex." Alex saw her at the same moment and turned around to run. "Stop! Police!"

Alex darted up the trail to Terrace Drive, where she raced through traffic and across Central Park West. Beckett and the boys chased her, dodging the moving vehicles, badges held high to make sure people knew they were cops. A bus cut them off, blocking their view of Alex's back. Horns honked as they waited for the bus to get out of their way. When it finally did however, Alex was gone. Beckett stopped on the North side of W72nd and turned a full circle, searching for a glimpse of her. Then she saw the subway entrance on the South side. _If I was running from the cops, that's where I would go_.

She pointed down the street. "Check around that corner! Castle, come with me!" Beckett quickly crossed to the subway entrance, pulling out her gun as she did.

An MTA Police Officer saw her gun and drew his own. "Police! Drop it!"

Beckett pulled her coat open to expose her badge. "NYPD! I'm in pursuit of a suspect!"

Castle took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a picture of Alex. "Have you seen this girl in the last few minutes?"

The officer nodded. "She might have been the one that slid onto the C train just before the doors closed."

Beckett holstered her weapon. "Which direction?"

"What?"

"Which direction was the train headed?"

"South."

Beckett pulled out her phone. "This is Detective Kate Beckett. B-E-C-K-E-double T. Badge number 41319. I need to put out an A.P.B. on Alexandra Stevens. Last known location is on board the Southbound C train at 72nd." She paused for the operator's response. "Thank you."

Castle hung up his phone too. "I called Ryan and Esposito."

"Great." She walked onto the platform holding up her badge. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the delay to your day, but I'm afraid I'm going to need your cooperation. This shouldn't take long, but your help may aid my team in the capture of a dangerous fugitive. Please line up against the back wall as best you can and we'll try to get you on your way as quickly as possible."

The waiting crowd groaned and moved to comply as Ryan and Esposito arrived. "What happened?"

Beckett filled them in. "Alex hopped onto the C train. I've already called in an A.P.B. but I'm hoping to get a current description. I didn't get a very clear look at her before she bolted."

"We'll get started on the statements."

"Thanks."

* * *

Alex was feeling restless. She hadn't taken a job in over a month despite the numerous offers that had come in. Most of them had been husbands trying to get rid of an overbearing wife, or wives trying to eliminate cheating husbands. If domestic violence was involved, Alex might have considered some of the requests, but when it was people who were too proud to simply file for divorce, Alex made sure to stay as far from it as possible.

Sloan had noticed her mindless pacing. "You could go for a walk or take in a show. You've kept yourself cooped up too long; you need to get out."

Alex stopped. "Are you trying to get me arrested?"

"We live in a city that is home to more than eight million people. Not all of them are cops. Come on, I know you. You have been doing nothing but train for the past few weeks. I think you could easily outrun any cop who actually recognizes you. Especially if you go somewhere crowded."

"So I'm going to a department store."

Sloan laughed. "That's not the only place that will be crowded today."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "It's December. Where else are there going to be crowds?"

"It's not just December, it is December eighth. Ever heard of John Lennon?"

"The guy from The Beatles?"

"Yes. Today is the anniversary of his death. Strawberry Fields should be crawling with fans. You might enjoy it."

Alex opened the closet door and selected a reversible coat. "At the very least it should be an interesting experience. Which coat do you want?"

"You go ahead. I've got some things to take care of here."

Alex snuck up behind Sloan and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're not ordering my Christmas present, are you?"

"I took care of that last week." Sloan pointed to his screen. "I'm keeping an eye on Asendorf. He's been hitting up Directories trying to find out who ratted on him."

Alex leaned in for a closer look. "Has he found anything?"

"Not as far as I can tell, but that doesn't mean much. Directories don't exactly work on the grid. Don't worry, he won't find anything electronically. I made sure to wipe all the files from my computer's memory. He'd have to break in here and steal the disk itself to find anything."

"Good. Where is he staying?"

"Right now he lives in a studio apartment in SoHo. Why?"

Alex shrugged and walked to the door. "Just curious. I'm going out. Bye."

"Wait, you're not thinking of going after him, are you?"

Alex turned around with a smirk on her face. "Today? No. But if he doesn't stop looking, I'm going to have to do something before he does."

Sloan relaxed slightly. "So where are you going?"

"Strawberry Fields. I hear it's a party today."

Alex hailed a cab three blocks from the apartment. The ride from the apartment to West 73rd was long and slow, but Alex didn't mind. It had been a couple months since she'd been able to just look at the city. She enjoyed watching the insanity of the city drivers and the fearlessness of the pedestrians. Sidewalk Santas stood outside stores, ringing their bells in hopes of attracting a few extra coins. Street cart vendors were surrounded by hungry pedestrians taking a break from shopping to get a quick bite to eat. Eventually, the cab reached her destination and Alex got out, throwing some money to the cabbie as she did.

Alex stood for a minute as the cab drove away. Despite the sprinkling of snow on the ground, the day was nice. A little chilly, sure, but not absolutely freezing. Alex turned south and headed to 72nd. She was glad Sloan had convinced her to go. He was right; she really did need to get out more.

Beatles music floating on the air told her she was getting close. She smiled as she crossed the street with a group who had dressed up for the occasion. She followed them down the path until they reached the Imagine memorial. Alex actually stopped at the sight. She'd been here before, but never before had it been so crowded. Some people were dancing to the music that was being provided by a tribute band while others sang along. Flowers had been arranged on the mosaic to form a peace sign and others had been placed around the outside edge, most likely from some of the people present.

Alex moved to get out of a group's picture when a face caught her eye. She looked up, but a different group had blocked her view of the face. _I could have sworn I just saw Beckett_. She stayed still, waiting for the group to move. They finally did.

"Crap."

Beckett had seen her too. "Stop! Police!"

Alex had already turned to bolt. Lucky for her, most people had stopped moving, startled by Beckett's shout. By the time they looked around to see what the shouting was about, Alex was clear of the crowds and headed toward the Women's Gate. _I'm glad I spent so much time on the treadmill_. Alex weaved through traffic on Central Park West. Horns honked, expressing the drivers' annoyance that she would dare to interrupt their already slow progress. She sped up, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the M10 Bus as she cleared the street. She then used the bus as cover to cross W72nd and go down the stairs into the subway terminal.

An elderly MTA cop was close to the entrance, but he was helping a tourist find her way. The C train was announcing that the doors would be closing soon, so there wasn't much time. Alex decided to use the cop's distraction to her advantage and hopped the turnstile.

The cop didn't see her, but someone on the platform did. "Hey, you can't do that."

She ignored him, racing to make the train before the doors closed. Up ahead, the doors had started to slide shut. Alex stuck her hand out, pushing to keep the doors open just enough to squeeze through. She barely made it. Alex looked back as the train started moving. The cop was heading to the booth with the passenger who'd seen her in tow, presumably to check the video or call in her turnstile jump. She moved toward the back of the car. Along the way, she spotted a lady who had several shopping bags with her. Alex stopped nearby, noticing a hat sticking out of the top of one of the bags. She waited until the train swayed to bump into the man behind her so that he would crash into the woman in front of him. The resulting chaos gave her the distraction she needed to swipe the hat and move into the next car. Once inside, she put it on and turned her coat inside out.

Two stops later she disembarked, picking the pocket of a man who had just gotten on, taking his wallet. Inside, Alex found a Metro card monthly pass. She smiled to herself as she swiped the card at the turnstile to change trains. _Safe, for now_. Moving with the crowd, she boarded the Eastbound E train and began to work her way back home.

* * *

The statements collected from the subway station were of little to no help. The one thing Beckett learned was that Alex had jumped the turnstile and caught the train by so narrow a margin, if they had spotted her only a few seconds later or if she had been two steps slower, they might have actually had her. For now they would have to settle for the security footage. Ryan was working with MTAPD to get the right cameras.

He finally hung up. "They're sending the footage now."

"Great. Forward it to me."

"You got it." He turned back to his computer when the chime sounded. "Just got here. Sending you the link."

A chime from her computer told her the email had arrived. "Got it."

Beckett pulled up the video and pushed play. For a couple minutes, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Eventually, Alex ran down the stairs into the subway station. She paused momentarily when she saw the cop, then jumped over the turnstile and onto the platform. A disembarking passenger noticed, but Alex ignored him and just managed to slip onto the train before the doors shut.

Beckett rewound the tape until she got a clear shot of Alex. "Gotcha."

Castle sat down and slid a coffee to her. "Is that Alex?"

"Yep."

"She looks different. What do you think she did to disguise herself?"

"I don't think she was in a disguise. I think she was merely taking a walk in Central Park, visiting the memorial to John Lennon."

Castle smiled. "We can add Beatles fan to her profile."

Beckett smiled too, but ignored him. "She thinner, but not like she's sick or malnourished. She's more fit."

"Which would explain how she managed to easily outrun us this time around."

"Right." Beckett leaned in to study the screenshot. "Her hair is shorter and it's auburn now. Wait…" Beckett pulled up the still of Nicole Downland. "Downland was Alex. We assumed that Alex hadn't changed while she was healing, but we were wrong."

"More like mislead. Her cheeks appeared fuller when she was stealing Benigno's will and looking at Zoratti's."

"Which lead us to believe that she hadn't changed."

Castle took a look at the screenshot. "She's been working out. I guess the fact that you were able to put a hole in her made her realize that she needed to work on being more elusive."

"Maybe." Beckett printed out both stills. "I've got to tell Gates. Esposito!"

"Yeah."

"Stay on the Hunger Games case. I want to know what the other teams found. We'll have to finish our part of the canvass tomorrow."

"Ryan and I could do it tonight. We were almost done as it is. And it'll give us more context…"

"And less light. I'd like to be able to see as much of the crime scene as possible. We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

"Copy that."

Satisfied that the cases were being covered, Beckett knocked on the door to Gates' office to let the boss know what had happened.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please leave a review, I'd love to hear what you guys think. Also, if any of you are New York residents and I've made a mistake regarding the Subway System or location of Central Park landmarks, let me know. I've never been on the subway and I've only been to Central Park once. As amazing as it was, it was also several years ago, so any advice you might have would be greatly appreciated. I'd be more than happy to fix errors if I need to. Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl and Quillcox for their reviews. Quillcox, I sometimes forget that people can't read my mind when I switch between perspectives. :) In the future, I'll keep in mind to indicate when a switch/time jump is made. Thanks for the suggestion! **

**Starting out with Alex's perspective. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

Four trains and three back alleys later, Alex slipped into the safe house. She tossed the hat onto the coat rack and hung her coat up in the closet before fishing the wallet out of her pocket. Then she headed for Sloan's computer setup.

He heard her coming. "So, how was Strawberry Fields?"

She shrugged. "It was interesting. And I ran into an old friend."

Sloan sounded curious. "Oh yeah? Who was it?"

"Detective Kate Beckett."

Sloan swiveled around in his chair to face her. "What?"

"Kate was at Strawberry Fields too."

"What happened?"

"Obviously I got away. It's a good thing the 72nd St. subway station is so close. I barely managed to catch the Southbound C train before it left the station."

"Your constant training must have paid off."

Alex nodded as she pulled on a pair of gloves. "Yeah."

Sloan stood up and joined her at the table. "What's this?"

"I picked a guy's pocket to get his Metro card. I left the card with a homeless guy. If they follow the trail, it won't end up in this neighborhood. Now I want to know where I need to return this wallet." Alex pulled out the man's driver's license. "We've got an address."

"Want me to map it for you?"

"No, I'll just let a bike messenger take care of it." She grabbed a cloth and started to wipe the wallet down to remove her fingerprints. "If you want, you can type up a note for me."

"Would you like it to explain why you had to steal his wallet?"

Alex smiled. "Just have it say something like, 'I found it on the subway and that everything is still in it'."

Sloan smile as he got to work. "You got it."

* * *

Tom Martin signed for the bike messenger's package and went inside to open it. Inside, he found his wallet with a note. "_I found this on the subway and wanted to return it to its owner. As far as I can tell, nothing was touched. Hoping you have a marvelous day. Your guardian angel._" He thumbed through it. The only thing missing was his Metro Card, but as he'd already canceled it and the all the other cards, he wasn't too worried. Tom smiled. _There are some decent people still left in this city_.

* * *

Beckett and Castle arrived at the precinct early the next morning to find Ryan still at his desk in the same suit he'd been wearing the night before. The only difference from last night and today was Ryan was now asleep with his head on his arms. Beckett hung up her coat, trying not to laugh. Castle however got that mischievous glint in his eyes, walked over to Ryan's desk, selected the book Ryan had been reading lately, and dropped it on the floor.

Ryan woke with a start. "What the hell?!"

Castle was grinning. "Morning, Sunshine. Sleep well?"

"No." Ryan groaned and put his head in his hands. "No, no, no. Oh, no. I've been here all night?"

Beckett joined Castle at Ryan's desk and picked up the detective's cell phone. "Looks like Jenny called you a few times last night. You should probably call her back."

"Yeah." Ryan grabbed his phone and dialed Jenny's number as he walked out of the room. "Honey, I am sooooo sorry…"

Beckett sat down in Ryan's chair. "What was he working on last night?" She moved the mouse to wake up the computer. Surveillance footage along the C train's southbound route popped up. From the cameras Ryan had been looking at, he had managed to get through seventeen stops before falling asleep.

"Well, it's official."

Beckett turned to Castle. "What's official?"

"You've infected Ryan with your obsessiveness."

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"

Castle immediately looked apologetic. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. I love your ability to be obsessive on a case. It's one of the things that makes you so good at what you do. I'm just saying, Ryan is now being just as obsessive on the Shadow Fox case as you are. You didn't tell him to go over all the subway surveillance footage, did you?"

"No."

Ryan came back in. "I'm in the doghouse."

"Do you need us to call her and vouch for you?" Beckett stood so Ryan could reclaim his desk.

Ryan sat down. "No, she's just mad that I didn't let her know I'd be staying late. Not that I meant to. Anyway, as you've discovered, I've been trying to figure out where Alex may have gone. Maybe then we might know where she lives."

"Find anything?" Castle picked up the book he dropped and put it back on Ryan's desk.

"No. I thought maybe she'd switch trains at the Washington Square station, but I couldn't find her in the crowd anywhere. I even looked for her coat. There was nothing."

"How many more stops are left?"

"Ten. I'm almost done."

Beckett looked up and saw Esposito step off the elevator. "Okay. Go home, shower, change, say hi to your wife and kids. I'll have Esposito work on that while you're gone."

"Okay."

Esposito gave Ryan a look as their paths crossed. "Is it just me, or is Ryan wearing the same suit he wore yesterday?"

"He fell asleep while looking for Alex on the surveillance footage. He got through the Franklin Avenue stop. I want you to finish that while he goes home to change. Maybe you'll figure out where Alex got off."

"You think it might tell us where she lives. I'm on it."

Beckett returned to her desk. An envelope addressed to her from Tobias Pierno, the Gamemaker, was waiting for her. She opened it to find a flash drive and a note. The note read: "_This is a record of the dates everyone has played. I hope it helps_." Beckett plugged in the flash drive and pulled up the membership list. It was time to narrow down the list a little further.

Ryan returned a little over an hour later and joined Castle and some detectives who were on loan from Robbery in making calls to the players who had participated recently. The ones who played a lot usually had a lot to say about the victim and other players, but they also had easily verifiable alibis. Esposito was able to join in making calls when he finished with the security footage. Unfortunately, he had been unable to find Alex on any of the stations' footage either, which meant she must have changed her clothes on the train somehow. Slowly, the team was able to cross off several names from the possible suspects list. By the time they broke for lunch at two, they had eliminated over 300 suspects. They had a long way to go.

After lunch, they finished their canvass of the park while the Robbery boys made phone calls, but turned up nothing new. The reports from the other teams were equally disappointing. It was frustrating, but in a park that big, it would have been hard to find anything, especially in this weather. They decided to return to the precinct and make more phone calls. They worked late into the night, clearing another 400 suspects, but still coming up with nothing.

Castle rubbed his eyes. "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way."

Beckett looked up. "What do you mean?"

Castle moved to the board. "We're assuming the victim was killed by someone in the Games; someone who would have known where to find him. But what if the killer has nothing to do with the Games?"

Esposito leaned back in his chair. "His GPS unit suggests he knew who was coming after him."

"Maybe not." Castle turned to face them. "The park is known for being a hangout for junkies and dealers after dark."

Beckett nodded. "Okay, what's your theory?"

Castle became more animated. "'Thresh' sees something going down in the park, but before he can sneak away to report it, they see him too. So he runs for his team's checkpoint, knowing that there will be two people waiting for him there. Unfortunately, the other guy is faster. 'Thresh' is run down. The killer doesn't have a weapon, so he uses his fists and feet, making sure to kill the only witness who could bring down his operation."

"Or, as you said yesterday, it was personal. He ran into someone in the park, someone who scared the crap out of him." Beckett sat back. "But maybe's Castle's right. We've been looking at people who play a lot or have played recently, assuming that one of them might have had a rivalry with the vic that they took a little too far."

Esposito nodded. "You're thinking that it might have been someone who stopped playing for some reason."

"And our vic might be that reason." She glanced at her watch. "Okay, it's late. Ryan, go home tonight," the group chuckled, "we'll pick this up in the morning."

* * *

Tobias Pierno came in early the next morning following Beckett's call. "What can I do to help, Detective?"

"Let's use the Conference Room." They moved into the Conference Room and sat down. "Mr. Pierno…"

"Tobias, please."

"Okay, Tobias. I understand Richard was one of the founders of the group. What does that mean?"

"Well, initially it was to get people interested in coming out and playing. Lately, we would come up with the special event games, like the cross-borough event we were planning for this summer. Doing the special event games really keeps people interested in coming out and participating. That was one of Richard's ideas."

"Is that all you do now?"

"No. We would also look into complaints from other members about certain players."

Castle walked in and passed out coffees. "How many founders are there?"

"Three. Richard, Amy Overholt, and myself."

Beckett nodded. "And how would you investigate complaints? I'd imagine there isn't much you can do when there are thousands of members."

Tobias smiled. "It can be tough. But usually there wasn't anything for us to do in that department. The players are normally very well behaved. When we did have to look into a complaint, mostly we would just visit with the player the complaint had been made against and inform them that if we heard more complaints against them, we would be forced to ban them from playing in the future."

"Any particular players who are, or have been, problems in the past?"

"Not really; most people we talk to straighten out their act or just stop playing altogether." Tobias paused as a name crossed his mind. "Actually, I haven't thought of him in almost a year, but we did have to ban someone."

Beckett picked up her pen. "What was his name?"

"Albert Johnson."

"Why was he banned?" Castle was watching Tobias while Beckett wrote down the name.

"He was a great player for a year, but then his behavior started changing. When we investigated, we found out he'd started using drugs."

Beckett looked up. "Do you know what he was on?"

"At first, it was marijuana. By the time he was banned though, I think he'd gotten hooked on PCP."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was mostly just procedural stuff. I know we see the team getting to be involved in some really exciting stuff on the show, but for most real detectives, phone calls and paperwork is most of what they do. I just wanted to bring in a little taste of the 'off-screen' reality for the group. Two more chapters for this case and then it will wrap up and we'll be starting a new one. Thanks so much for reading and as always, please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Sorry this is a day late. I tried to post last night, but for some reason, was on the fritz or something. Also, I'd like to thank Quillcox and phnxgrl for their reviews. I love the continued support!**

* * *

Chapter 14

Tracking down Albert Johnson was proving difficult. He'd been sent to a drug rehab facility six months ago, but he'd checked out early against his theropist's advice. Since then, his work record was spotty at best. Ryan and Esposito had spent the morning tracking down and interviewing the few employers he'd had, but none of them remembered much about him to be of any help.

In the meantime, Beckett and Castle went to his rehab facility and met with the facility's director. "Welcome to Hemdale. I'm Dr. Clint Bridgewaters. How can I help you, Detective?"

"We're here about Albert Johnson. I understand he was a patient here about six months ago?"

Dr. Bridgewaters nodded. "I got the court order you faxed over. Right this way." He led them to a wood paneled office. "Please, have a seat. I'll make sure you get a copy of his records on the way out, but I'm sure you have some questions for me."

_This one seems a little too well prepared_. "What can you tell us about him?"

The doctor straightened his tie. "Well, when he first arrived, he was starting to go into withdrawals. He was very agitated, borderline violent. After he was no longer under the influence, he exhibited signs of memory loss and depression."

"How long was he here?"

"Thirty days."

Beckett was surprised. "How is that possible?"

"His lawyer was good and it was Albert's first drug offense."

"Even a first time drug offense carries at least two months of court ordered rehab if the drug is PCP."

The doctor gave a wry smile. "I told you, his lawyer was good. Albert was here for a marijuana offense."

Castle turned to Beckett. "Marijuana is nothing like PCP, right?"

"Right. But some dealers have been known to lace their product with other drugs, like PCP."

"Exactly. Albert's lawyer managed to argue that he'd taken the PCP unintentionally. He was a chronic marijuana user too. Now everyone is different, but it appeared to me that the marijuana tended to calm him when he was on PCP, reducing his likelihood to be violent. When he arrived however, there was no trace of marijuana in his system."

"If he was exhibiting signs of PCP addiction, why did you release him at the end of his sentence?"

"An independent therapist came in and declared him sufficiently sober to rejoin society. That was good enough for the court, so I couldn't hold him."

Castle leaned forward. "I'm curious. What were the circumstances that brought him here in the first place?"

"From the file, I believe that someone brought a complaint against him to the police. They had enough for a search warrant and the cops found marijuana and a very high Albert near his home. He was charged with possession."

"Do you know who the complainant was?"

"No." The doctor paused. "But…during his therapy sessions, he kept repeating a name. Richard Souza. He seemed to be very upset towards him."

Beckett exchanged a glance with Castle. "Do you know where we might find Albert now?"

The doctor shook his head. "He was supposed to check in every few months so we could make sure he was staying sober. He hasn't come by or called since he left. I have no idea where you'll find him, but I'm sure he will be high on something."

"Like PCP." Beckett stood and shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you for all your help."

"Of course. Let me get his records for you." Bridgewaters left the office and returned with a file folder. "Here, I hope you can find him before he kills someone else."

"What makes you think he's killed someone?"

Bridgewaters smirked. "Detective Beckett. You've become well known in this city as one of the best homicide detectives in the state of New York. If you're looking for Albert, it's likely he's killed someone. Good luck."

* * *

Castle cleared his throat in the car on their way back to the precinct. "I know we wanted to take our relationship slow, but I've been wondering if you've been giving our engagement any thought."

Beckett stiffened slightly. "Not much. Alex turning out to be the Shadow Fox kind of drove everything else out of my mind. I'm sorry."

Castle understood; Alex had thrown them all for a loop. "Thanks for your honesty. I have to admit, I haven't either. But I don't want us to forget about our commitment to each other."

Beckett nodded. "I agree. We should at the very least be talking about it." She hesitated, unsure where to begin. "Where do you want to start?"

Castle was getting excited. "Well, how big do you want it? Big wedding, small wedding, just the two of us at the courthouse? This is entirely up to you. After all, it will be your day."

Beckett smiled. "Small, but my dad is walking me down the aisle."

"So family and close friends with an aisle. Where would you like the setting to be? My house in the Hamptons? A hotel ballroom? Small church?"

Beckett pulled into a spot near the precinct. "I don't know. I'll think about it. I promise."

Castle fell into step with her. "It's a start anyway. We also need to start thinking about setting a date."

"Castle." Beckett had stopped. He thought she was about to reprimand him for acting like a twelve year old on a sugar rush again, but she wasn't even looking at him. She was staring across the street. He followed her line of sight, but there didn't seem to be anything there.

"You okay?"

She started to cross the street. "I thought I saw Alex again." They reached the other side, but nothing was there. "She was right here. I could have sworn I saw her."

Castle was checking out all the pedestrians. "I don't see her. Maybe it was just someone who looked like her. Like Ashcraft."

"Maybe." Beckett frowned like she wasn't convinced. "Come on. Let's go see if the boys have found anything."

Upstairs in the bullpen, Beckett and Castle were greeted by an unusual sight. Ryan, Esposito, and two uniforms were trying to subdue a man who was clearly tripping out. Just when it looked like everything was under control, Ryan was sent sprawling and then one of the uniforms took an uppercut to the chin. Two other detectives joined in and the man was finally pinned to the ground by the sheer mass of numbers.

Beckett walked over to the pile-up. "What is going on?"

"Meet Albert Johnson." Ryan moved off the pile and let the paramedics in to sedate the suspect. "Found him passed out in front of a popular crack house. He wasn't tripping when we brought him in."

Detectives were slowly moving off the pile. "How'd you know where to go?"

"An old C.I. of mine back when I was a Narc." Ryan brushed off the sleeves of his suit coat. "He gave us the locations of a few PCP distributors and we checked them out. Found Albert here at the second stop."

One of the paramedics looked up at Ryan. "Where did these cuts come from?"

"He decided to go through a window."

Beckett turned to I1 to find the window shattered. "Did he put a chair through the window?"

Ryan nodded. "We locked him in there to wait for you. The door held; the window? Not so lucky."

The paramedics strapped Albert to a gurney and handcuffed him to the rails. "He'll probably be in detox until tomorrow."

"Be careful with him, he's on PCP."

"Yes, sir."

Gates arrived as they wheeled the suspect out. "What the hell happened here?"

"We found the suspect, but he was high on PCP. He broke out of Interrogation and had to be forcefully restrained."

Gates sighed and headed for her office. "I want the incident reports on my desk in an hour. And get this mess cleaned up."

Esposito hung up his phone. "Maintenance and CSU are on their way. I'm gonna head over to the hospital to keep an eye on Mr. Johnson."

Ryan turned to his partner. "Not until you've finished with your after incident report. I'm not doing it for you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Gates wants the incident reports for this mess on her desk in an hour." Ryan sat down. "I'm getting started with mine right now. I'd suggest you do the same."

Esposito shook his head. "Just when you think she's softening up, she brings down the hammer."

Castle shrugged. "Now you know how I felt the first couple years."

"How did you get her to like you?"

"My impressive charm and captivating wit."

Beckett headed to her desk. "He started playing nice and listening to her."

Castle followed her to her desk. "And that was how I got to stay even after she learned we were together."

Ignoring him, she spent the next hour reading through the file on Albert Johnson. According to Dr. Bridgewaters' notes, Albert exhibited all the classic signs of a long term, habitual PCP user. Beckett put in a request for the court cases relating to their suspect while Esposito and Ryan finished their reports and headed down to the hospital to see if Johnson had regained consciousness. Castle also left, telling Beckett that he wanted to get started with the Christmas decorations in the loft.

Beckett smiled at the thought. She loved the loft at Christmas time. Without fail, it always looked like a Winter Wonderland, and the decorations were never the same two years in a row. _Castle was really excited when he left_._ This year's decorations must be really special_. Beckett wondered who was going to help him this year. Alexis wasn't coming home until the week before Christmas, but Martha had assured them she would be around to help, so he must be enlisting her help while Beckett was at the precinct.

Beckett's thoughts were interrupted by a ding from her computer; the court cases had arrived. At first, she concentrated on the transcript from the possession trial. They were fairly straightforward for a drug charge. Beckett noticed that the lawyer for Johnson, Patrick Sliwinski, was very good at playing down a drug charge. Beckett smirked to herself; if Castle were here, he'd make a crack that the lawyer sounded slimy from his name alone.

Beckett Googled Sliwinski. Despite his sleazy name, he was a high priced lawyer from a firm that normally represented the rich and famous. There was no way Albert Johnson, junkie, could afford Sliwinski's price. Beckett searched for Sliwinski in the police database. He had a few traffic tickets and a parking citation, but beyond that, there wasn't much on his record.

Maybe she was looking through the wrong data. "Castle, I need your help."

She could hear Christmas music on the other end. "_Do you need me to come back to the precinct?_"

"No, but maybe your lawyer could help. Albert Johnson's lawyer for his drug possession trial was Patrick Sliwinski. I'm wondering what kind of a reputation he has in the legal circles."

"_Well, his name alone makes him sound sleazy. I'll call around and find out_."

Beckett smiled. "Thanks. How's it coming?"

"_Good._" It sounded like he was lifting something heavy. "_I'm just trying to sort through the decorations and decide what to put up. Mother's on her way to help out._"

"Good." She noticed Gates' eyes were on her. "I've got to go. See you tonight."

"_I love you_."

Beckett hung up and entered Gates' office. "Did you wish to see me, sir?"

"Am I interrupting a personal call, Detective?"

"No, sir. I thought Castle's lawyer might be able to shed some light on Albert Johnson's drug charges. The lawyer representing Johnson was well outside his price range. I'm wondering how the two ended up together."

Gates sat down. "Even high end lawyers take pro-bono cases every once in a while. Why would this case be different?"

"My gut says there's more to it. I'm just trying to gather some more information before I talk to Sliwinski directly."

Gates cracked a rare smile. "Well, I can't argue with your gut. Good luck in your search."

"Thank you, sir." Beckett returned to her desk in time to catch her ringing phone. "Beckett."

"_Detective_." Beckett recognized Agent Greene's voice. "_I hear you're interested in Patrick Sliwinski. We need to talk_."

* * *

**A/N: I liked writing for Agent Greene and decided to bring him back. Leave a review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox and phnxgrl for their reviews. I think it's a miracle when Gates smiles too :). This chapter wraps up this case. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

An hour later, Beckett found herself leaning against the trunk of her car in an underground parking garage on 48th between 8th and Broadway. Two "Fed-mobiles" pulled up next to her and Greene stepped out of the back seat of the lead vehicle.

He greeted her warmly. "It's good to see you again, Detective. How's Mr. Castle?"

"He's well. Getting the loft set up for Christmas." They shook hands. "You said we needed to talk?"

Greene smiled. "I forget that you like to get right to business. Very well. Patrick Sliwinski. If you think he's a bit of a slime ball, you're right. The problem is he's a connected slime ball. The FBI have been looking into his connections with the Negrete Cartel."

"What does this Cartel pedal?"

"Drugs, women, guns. You name it, they do it."

"If they're operating in New York, why haven't I heard about them?"

Greene shrugged. "Until recently, they were only suppliers to the gangs and dealers in the area. Now they're taking a piece of the action themselves. Your gang and Narc units probably know them as Los Infernales, their 'chapter' in New York."

"What's the Fed's interest in all this?"

"We're working on a joint taskforce with the DEA. I can't really tell you much more. What's your interest in Sliwinski?"

"He represented my suspect in a first time drug bust. I'm trying to figure out how a high priced lawyer like Sliwinski gets pulled into a case involving a junkie."

"What was the junkie arrested for?"

"Possession. Marijuana laced with PCP."

Greene nodded. "The Negrete Cartel deal with cocaine and marijuana. If Sliwinski represented your suspect, he was probably one of their 'testers'. The cartel has been experimenting, trying to create a few unique products for the market."

"Marijuana laced with PCP isn't exactly new."

"But the mixture might be unique. I'll see what I can find out. Maybe your team can help mine again."

"I'm curious. How'd you even know I was interested in Sliwinski?"

"If the police search his name in their database, it sends a red flag to us. Normally we'd just keep an eye on the case, but when I saw you were the one to search it, I knew there had to be a good reason."

Beckett cocked an eyebrow. "So, should I not bring him in for questioning?"

Greene smiled. "No, you can bring him in. Just don't let him know how much you know…"

Gunfire suddenly rang out. Beckett dropped into a crouch, instinctively pulling out her gun in the same motion. Feds spilled from the SUVs, pulling out their guns and returning fire. Beckett followed suit, using her car as cover. Behind her, someone was yelling into their phone, requesting backup, but Beckett ignored them. To her left, an agent collapsed and Beckett emptied the remainder of her clip in the direction of the shooter, who also collapsed. A black, tricked out SUV pulled up next to where the gunmen were shooting from. The shooters who were still standing rushed into it before it peeled out of the parking garage. Agents fired at the vehicle, but it must have been bulletproofed; none of the bullets penetrated. Within moments, the SUV was gone.

Beckett stood up to survey the damage while Agents slowly approached the row of cars the gunmen had been using as cover. Both her car and the FBI's SUVs were missing windows and several bullets were embedded in the doors and bodies of the cars. Beckett turned to see who was hurt as three ambulances and several squad cars entered the garage. Two Agents were down, and one of them was Agent Greene.

Greene was unconscious and the Agent who had called for backup was trying to stop the bleeding in his abdomen. Beckett could see that his shirt was coated in blood and a small pool of it was growing beneath him. Paramedics rushed Greene and the other Agent onto gurneys and into two of the waiting ambulances. Uniforms were cordoning off the area to allow CSU the chance to process the scene when they arrived.

One of the paramedics came over to Beckett. "Here, let me take a look at that."

"Huh?"

"Your arm is bleeding. I'd like to take a look at it."

Beckett glanced down at her left arm and was surprised to see the bloodstain on her sleeve. "I didn't know I'd been hit."

The medic smiled. "Probably from the adrenaline rush." He helped her to remove her coat and gently cut away part of the sleeve so he could get a better look. "You should probably get this stitched up. I'll bandage it for now and we'll take you to the hospital."

"Thanks." Beckett watched the coroner's van enter the garage and Lanie got out. "Lanie?"

Lanie turned and saw her friend with a paramedic. "Thank heavens, you're alive. Are you okay?"

Beckett nodded. "Just a scratch. What are you doing here?" The paramedic finished putting on the bandage.

"I got a call about an officer involved shooting where there was a dead body. Esposito told me you were meeting an FBI agent in the area and I was worried you might be the victim." She paused, looking more worried. "Where's Castle?"

"At home. He's putting up Christmas decorations." Lanie looked relieved as she turned to where the body was located. Beckett wandered over to see an Hispanic man in his late twenties to early thirties wearing a white tank top, baggy jeans, some gold chains, and a black bandanna over his face. "He was one of the shooters."

Lanie knelt down to examine his wounds. "Are you sure? I don't see a gun."

"I'm sure. I remember seeing him. He shot an Agent with an automatic rifle. One of the other shooters must have taken it when they fled."

"I'm guessing some of these holes came from you then?" Beckett nodded and Lanie turned back to the body. "I'll check him for gunshot residue. You should take care of your arm. I got this. You don't need to be here when I.A. shows up."

* * *

Rick had finally managed to pull out all the Christmas boxes from storage and his mother had arrived to "help." He should have known that her brand of help would be to open a bottle of wine and start drinking it while reading a magazine. He was sitting at the bar, trying to decide what to put up this year. Last year was a Winter Wonderland and the year before had involved a lot of trains, so this year would be Santa's Workshop. _Which boxes do I need?_

His ringing phone interrupted his thoughts. "Castle."

Kate was on the other side. "_Okay, so don't freak out, but I've been shot. It's not…_"

Rick interrupted, already in a panic. "What? Where are you? What happened? How bad is it?"

"_It's just a graze. I'm fine. Just come down to St. Luke's-Roosevelt. I'll tell you what happened there._"

"I'm on my way." Rick hung up and grabbed a coat. "Kate's been shot. I'm going to meet her at the hospital."

Martha put down her magazine and jumped up. "Is she okay?"

"That was her just now on the phone. She said it was just a graze. I'll call you when I've found out what happened."

Castle was impatient the entire cab ride to St. Luke's-Roosevelt and on the elevator up to the correct floor. He was out the elevator doors before they had even opened all the way, casting his frantic eyes around the floor, searching for his love.

She saw him first. "Castle."

He turned around, relief washing over his features when he saw her walking toward him. "What happened?" He caught sight of the blood going down the sleeve of her shirt. "We need to get you a change of clothes."

"Ryan went to get my spare shirt from the precinct. Don't worry, it really was just a graze. They've already patched me up. I'm fine." She paused. "Better than Agent Greene anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Beckett shook her head. "He didn't make it."

"He's dead?" Beckett nodded and Castle guided her to a chair. "Tell me everything."

* * *

Esposito managed to talk to Albert Johnson when he finally woke up. For the most part, his memory was shot, but when Richard Souza's name was mentioned, it was clear the Johnson's feelings toward him had not changed a bit. Albert blamed Souza for kicking him out of the Hunger Games club and his incarceration at the rehab facility. He had no memory of the night Souza died, but Albert made it clear during the interview that he wanted to get revenge.

Right at the end of the interview, Albert crashed. Esposito stood in the corner watching as the doctors worked feverishly to revive him. In the end, he was wheeled into the O.R. for surgery. Three hours later, Albert Johnson was in a coma on life support. Unknown to the doctors when he'd first been brought in, Albert had been on the verge of going into septic shock. The cause: one of his kidneys had failed almost a week prior without proper medical treatment. He'd been self-medicating to deal with the pain, mostly with marijuana laced with PCP. The blood work they'd been working on from the moment he'd come in had been so full of bacteria, it had been hard determine just what was wrong in time to catch it.

By now, the team was back at the precinct to give their reports. Beckett had changed her shirt and filled in her team on what she'd learned prior to Agent Greene's death. Esposito finished his report and informed them that the doctors were fairly certain that in his condition, Johnson was unlikely to survive the week, let alone long enough to wake up from the coma and stand trial for killing Souza.

Beckett hung up her phone and cleared her throat. "The FBI have picked up Sliwinski and he's agreed to testify in the case against the Negrete Cartel whenever it comes to trail. That part of the case is in their hands now."

Castle looked up at her. "So what are we doing about Albert Johnson?"

Beckett shrugged. "We've filed the charges, but since the doctors say he's not going to live long enough to see a trial, there's not really much we can do about it. Even if he did live, his memory is so poor now that his lawyer could argue that he wasn't cognizant at the time of the murder."

Castle was surprised. "But he hated Souza."

Esposito shook his head. "Hating someone doesn't mean he killed them. And Beckett didn't say the lawyer would argue he didn't do it. He was just high on drugs when he did and he doesn't remember doing it. The lawyer will argue that he isn't responsible for his actions because he was unaware of them at the time."

"Would that sway a jury?"

"Doubtful." Ryan started collecting their paper plates to throw them away. "Juries don't usually let junkies walk because they were too high to know what they were doing."

Beckett nodded. "Lanie matched impressions of Albert's hands and fists to Souza's bruises. It's pretty clear that he did it. He's just not going to do his time for it."

Castle nodded. "What about the shooting? Has I.A. ruled on that yet?"

Beckett nodded again. "It's a clean shoot. Lanie found gunshot residue all over the John Doe down in the morgue. He definitely was one of the shooters."

Esposito scoffed. "Probably one of the many low-level enforcers for Los Infernales. How did they find out where the meeting was being held?"

Beckett shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The Feds want us out of the case at this point. They'll be looking into that while they conduct their investigation. There's not much we can contribute anymore."

Ryan returned to the Conference Room. "Well, I'm going to head out. I want to get started on my Christmas shopping. Good night."

"Good night."

Esposito helped Beckett and Castle to box up the Richard Souza case before he too headed home.

Castle held open the passenger door to his car when they reached it. "Let's go home and watch a movie. What do you say?"

Beckett waited until he got behind the wheel before speaking. "It's just not fair."

"What isn't?"

"Souza gets killed by a junkie hopped up on PCP and carrying a grudge, but not only are we unable to prosecute his killer, Agent Greene gets killed and there's nothing we can do to help the Feds out on the case. I just wish we could help somehow."

"We can help. We can let them do their job so that the guilty parties can be held responsible for their actions without any chance of being released on some technicality that we caused. I know you want to help because you knew and respected Greene. As Feds go, he was one of the cool ones. I think it would be best if we simply honor who he was as a person and a member of the law enforcement community."

Beckett sighed. "I know. I just hate feeling useless."

Castle pulled away from the curb. "So…movie?"

"Sure. What do you want to watch?"

"How about 'Elf'? I haven't watched that recently."

Beckett smiled. "Sounds good."

* * *

**A/N: And that's it for this case. The next case starts after a bit of a time jump, so we will be skipping Christmas. Sorry if you wanted to see that. Please leave a review, I'd like to know what you guys thought of the latest case!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox and phnxgrl for their reviews. A good reason for skipping Christmas? Probably not; it just didn't fit in the overall structure of the story. I like to have a case to fit the personal story around and I couldn't think of a good one. Sorry! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 16

Alex stood looking out the window. They were in their third safe house in as many months and it was starting to get on her nerves. Asendorf was still in town, though he'd also changed where he was living, so it was getting harder to keep track him. As far as they knew, he was currently living in Queens, but that was a large borough to search for a man who knew how to stay in the shadows as well as she did.

She sighed and adjusted her forearm guards. The apartment they were in now was her personal favorite when it came to training. It was basically set up as a workout studio. Parkour and martial arts runs covered the main floor with alternate pieces of equipment lining the walls. Sloan's computers were set up in the only bedroom and Alex's bunk was situated in a loft area that required the use of Parkour techniques to reach. Right now she was practicing a routine designed for fighting a group.

She was halfway through her routine when Sloan interrupted her rhythm. "Alex, you're going to want to see this."

"What is it?" She entered the bedroom.

"Kate's name popped up on the Listing. Actually, the name was posted yesterday, but I have been having a hard time locating the site. They recently changed the address."

Alex ignored his rambling. "Who's the poster?"

Sloan shook his head. "No idea. They're covering their tracks and used the alias F. Roy Dean Schlippe. As far as I can tell, that name doesn't exist."

"That's because it's a pun. It sounds like Freudian Slip. They're being funny. Who took the contract?"

"Demon. He's a local."

"He's not just a local. He's known for moving on his targets quickly. It may already be too late." Alex ran out to her supplies and grabbed her bag and a coat. "Find out who Freudian Slip is and keep an ear on the police scanners. I'm going to warn Kate."

"Why not just call her?"

"Last time I checked, she changed her number and you couldn't find out what her new one was."

Sloan stood up and went to the doorway of his room. "What about Castle?"

Alex was halfway out the door. "Same story, and I can't guarantee he's with her!"

* * *

Kate was sitting on a barstool at the kitchen counter looking through some files on her computer. Alex had once again disappeared, though there had been a few sightings of her in the past three months. Kate was reviewing the latest reports, loving the silence that had come with getting new phones. Despite Castle's best efforts to keep their relationship, and engagement, a secret from the tabloids, it had inevitably come out. The last month had been filled with tabloid writers and reporters calling and asking for interviews. Castle had finally just gotten them both new phones and the numbers to go with them. Now only work and family knew their numbers.

Kate sighed and closed her laptop. Castle was right; she was letting herself get too absorbed in this case. She glanced around the main floor of the loft. All the furniture had been moved off to the side or stacked on top of other pieces. Castle's office was crammed right now with the smaller pieces that had been in the living room. _It will be so nice when this remodel is done_.

Kate grabbed the binder that was sitting next to her computer and opened it. Lanie had given it to her about a month ago to help her make decisions regarding her wedding. Kate had glanced through the binder before, but the sheer about of lace and flowers had frightened her at first. Now though, Kate felt it was time to at least get some ideas so she could have a better idea of what she wanted for her wedding when the time came.

Kate's thoughts were interrupted before she'd gotten very far. "Kate? Could you come up here please?"

Kate closed the binder and went upstairs. "Where are you?"

"In here." She followed the sound of Castle's voice into Alexis' room. "I'm trying to decide what color we should paint the walls. Do you like Chantilly Lace, Thistle, or Gypsy Love?"

She smiled. "Shouldn't Alexis be the one to pick the color?"

"She's away at school, so that's a little hard. Besides, I wanted to surprise her with the new look when she came back this summer. Which one do you like?"

"Rick, this really is a decision she should be making. This is still her room and I don't like the idea that she'll have to live with whatever decisions we make; good or bad."

He suddenly looked a little sad. "She won't always live here."

Kate placed her hands on Rick's chest. "And when that time comes, we can change this room then. Until then, this is her room; she should be the one to decide how she wants it decorated."

Rick smiled and gave her a kiss. "Okay." He pulled back to grab the paint color book when he froze.

Kate noticed the fear on his face. "What?"

* * *

**Minutes Earlier…**

Alex slipped into the underground garage when the guard left his booth for a smoking break and made her way over to the elevators. Unfortunately, you needed a key card to call the elevator. Alex glanced around and saw one of the building's tenants approaching. _Time for a small con_.

Alex started searching her pockets and bag as the man approached. "Crap. My dad is going to give me a hard time for this."

The man watched her. "Problem?"

Alex forced a smile. "I left my key card up in our unit. He always teases me about being forgetful and this makes the third time this month that I left my card in my room. I really don't want to call up to him and make him come get me again."

The man laughed and swiped his card. "Don't worry about it. I used to forget mine all the time." The elevator arrived a few moments later. "Ride up with me."

"Thank you. I really need to get better at remembering it."

The man pushed the two. "What floor?"

"Four." Two floors up, the man got out and wished her luck with her father. Alex smiled and thanked him again, pushing the five once the doors were closed. On the fifth floor, Alex made her way to the roof access, propping open the door to make sure she wouldn't be locked out. A quick survey of the roof later, Alex hid her bag between two air conditioning units nestled behind the trees of the rooftop garden. From the bag, she pulled out her knife and a lock pick set. She tucked the lock pick set into her back pocket and strapped her knife to her belt, letting her coat cover it up.

She slipped back into the building and made her way to Castle's apartment. After checking that the coast was clear, she took out the lock pick set and got to work, opening the door just a few seconds later. Alex slipped silently into the loft and took a look around. All the furniture was piled up in Castle's office and along the window wall, clearing the floor of the living room. Alex peaked into the bedroom, which was still furnished but empty of people, before sneaking up the stairs, staying close to the walls to reduce the chance of the stairs squeaking. On the second floor, Alex poked her head into the first room, a bathroom, before she heard the sound of voices. She followed the sounds, ending up outside Alexis' bedroom.

Kate was talking. "And when that time comes, we can change the room then. Until then, this is her room; she should be the one to decide how she wants it decorated."

Alex crept close enough to see Castle smile and lean down slightly to give Kate a kiss. "Okay." He pulled back from his fiancée to grab something and spotted Alex, freezing in place when he saw her.

Kate sounded confused. "What?" Then she turned around and saw Alex too.

Alex put up her hands. "You've really made it hard to get ahold of you."

"Alex."

"Yeah, you're not dreaming. Look, I'm here…"

Kate lunged and Castle grabbed for his phone. Alex dodged Kate's lunge, grabbing her shoulder from behind as Kate started to go past her and spun the detective around, pulling out her knife in the same motion. Within two seconds, Alex was holding her knife at Kate's throat, Kate had stopped fighting, and Castle was frozen in mid-dial.

_This is not how I wanted things to go_. "Toss your phones onto Alexis' bed. Go on."

Castle just stood there, glaring at Alex. Alex tightened her grip on Kate's shoulder. She didn't want to hurt Kate, but she had to make it look like that's exactly what would happen if they didn't start listening. Slowly, Kate pulled her phone out of her pocket and tossed it onto the bed.

Castle still hadn't moved. "Rick, it's okay. Just do what she says."

Reluctantly, he tossed his phone onto the bed too. "Good. Now, I didn't come here to hurt anyone, but if either of you do something stupid, I might be forced to."

Castle wasn't convinced. "Why are you here?"

"You changed your numbers, so I couldn't just call to warn you. Kate's named popped up again. This time the assassin who claimed the contract is a local and he doesn't mess around when it comes to killing someone. I came here to let you know so you could be on your guard."

The cop in Kate wanted more information. "What's his name?"

"I know him as Demon." Alex started backing up with Kate in tow. "Now, I would like to leave here without any problems, but I can't exactly trust you right now. Castle, you need to stay where I can see you." He made as though to grab one of the phones and Alex tightened her grip on Kate again. "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Don't even think about it."

"Rick, just listen to her; it's going to be fine."

Castle followed the pair out of the room. "You're not going to get away with this."

"Eventually, I'm sure you'll manage to arrest or kill me, but that won't be today." They had reached the top of the stairs. Alex was about to push Kate into Castle and make a break for the door when she saw Castle's eyes leave her and Kate. They traveled in the direction of the living area and went wide with surprise. _Demon is already here_. Alex pushed Kate to the floor and whipped around, catching the knife he had thrown in midair and hurling it back at him. He ducked and it embedded itself in the column nearest Castle's office. Demon turned to retrieve his throwing knife, but turned back when he heard Alex vault the banister at the bottom of the stairs. He pulled another knife out from his sleeve and dropped into a crouch, watching this threat.

Alex transferred her knife back into her right hand and waited. Demon took a step toward her and she copied him, sizing him up. She decided to test him and sprang at him, slashing the knife across her body in the same moment. He jumped back and made a counter slash at her face. Alex brought up her left arm to block, glad that in her rush to warn Kate, she'd forgotten to take off her forearm guards. Demon's blade skated across the guard. He took a step to Alex's left, but she followed, keeping herself between him and the stairs.

Demon sprang at her this time, forcing her to jump back. Alex noticed that he was keeping his distance for some reason, as though he was waiting for something. _What are you waiting for?_ She feinted to her left and he reacted by going to her right, only to find himself blocked by her knife. She slashed at him, grazing his chest as he tried to backpedal. He looked surprised and she grinned. _Let's see what you got_.

That's when Demon let go. The two began to dance, lunging, slashing; each trying to gain an advantage over the other. More than once Demon's blade made contact with Alex's arm guards and Alex's blade just managed to knick Demon. Once more he lunged at Alex, but this time the butt of her knife found his wrist, knocking his knife out of his hands. She drew back her arm to stab him, but he stepped under her guard, grabbing her right arm and throat at the same time. Alex flipped her knife over his head from her right to her left and he twisted, throwing her behind him and into the column his throwing knife was embedded in.

Alex hit the column and almost dropped her knife. Demon retrieved his from the floor and started moving toward the stairs. Alex knew there was no way she'd overtake him, so she quickly pulled the knife she'd thrown earlier from the wall and threw it at Demon, hitting him between the shoulders. He stopped in his tracks with a choked cry, giving Alex the opportunity to run up to him and stab him in the kidney. She twisted the blade and he collapsed; two more stabs and he stopped struggling.

She pulled her knife out of Demon's back and looked up. Castle was at the top of the stairs, phone to his ear. Kate was halfway to the kitchen, going for her holster on the kitchen counter. They exchanged a glance and then Kate lunged for her gun. Instead of trying to stop her, Alex bolted out the door. She made for the roof, retrieved her bag and ran. Vaulting the barriers from one building to the next, she was forced to stop at a glass partition that prevented her from jumping to the next roof over. She quickly changed her cloths here, shoving them into a trash bag and looking around to find an escape route. The façade of the building was a bit higher than the neighboring building. It might be enough for her to make the jump.

Alex threw the bag over to the next building and then backtracked to a point where she could mount the façade. She took a deep breath and ran, building up enough speed to take a flying leap, using her Parkour skills to make the jump. On the landing she rolled, retrieving her bag as she stood. She could hear the sirens approaching and mentally ran through her escape options. She knew that because Detective Beckett and the Shadow Fox were involved, a larger perimeter would be set up to limit her escape options. The streets were also too wide in this area of town to risk jumping from building to building, not to mention the fact that she was actually on one of the shorter buildings in the area. _But the sewers aren't checked_. Alex hated that route, but at times like this, it really was the only option. Carefully, she eased herself over the edge of the building to drop onto the fire escape and made her way to the street level.

A car pulled up to the curb, passenger side window down. "Get in."

"Sloan?"

"Get in!" Alex jumped into the backseat and Sloan drove away. Up ahead, flashing lights blocked off the street. "Get under the seat. There's a latch between the cushions." Alex followed his instructions, quickly folding herself into the small, hidden compartment with her bag.

Sloan was stopped at the perimeter. "License and registration, please."

"O'course Officer." Sloan had adopted his Southern accent.

"Steven C. LaQuensy. You from out-of-state?"

"Just moved to New York last week. Haven't had the chance to get my license updated yet."

The officer handed the license and registration off to another uniform. "And where are you living now, Mr. LaQuensy?"

"Brooklynn."

"And what is your business in the area?"

"I was meeting a friend of mine. He lives two blocks over. Is there something wrong, Officer?"

The officer shook his head as the uniform came back. "No, it looks like you check out. Don't forget to get your information moved up here. Have a nice evening, Mr. LaQuensy."

"You too, sir." Sloan was allowed to drive through the perimeter.

Two turns later, Alex extricated herself from the hiding spot. "Is this another one of your brother's inventions?"

"Yes. He thought it might come in useful if we needed to smuggle anything. I didn't realize I might need to smuggle you."

"Good thing I'm flexible." She stayed in the backseat. "Steven C. LaQuensy?"

"An old alias I've used before. It was time to get rid of it. By the way, we should consider the safe house in Atlanta burned."

"That's fine. I never liked that one anyway. How'd you know to come for me?"

"I figured out who posted the hit on Beckett."

Alex was intrigued. "Who?"

Sloan glanced back at her in the rearview mirror. "Clint Asendorf."

_Eagle Eye_.

* * *

**A/N: Dun-dun-dun. What's going to happen?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, Quillcox and fbobs for their reviews. A special thanks to fbobs for all his reviews on the original story. I love that you guys are enjoying the story! I know Quillcox, I'm sorry. Maybe in a future story (not this one) I'll include a Christmas scene for you. And now, for the chapter. We're starting in Beckett's perspective, but then we'll get to see how Alex and Sloan are dealing with Eagle Eye. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 17

Castle's loft had been transformed from home-under-renovation to crime scene in under an hour. CSU techs were taking pictures of the living room and body while Lanie examined the body of "Demon". Beckett was giving her statement to Detective Wolff of I.A. while Gates stood nearby listening in.

"So she managed to grab you with a knife to your throat. What did she say?"

"She told us to throw our phones onto the bed. We did what she told us to do. That's when she said she had no intention of hurting us as long as we didn't do anything stupid."

Wolff looked skeptical. "Then why was she here?"

"She came to warn us that an assassin known as Demon had been hired to kill me. She was trying to leave when she realized that he was here."

"So the dead guy is Demon?"

"From what she said, that's what I'm guessing. He threw a knife at us; she pushed me down, caught it and threw it back at him. He ducked, went to get it and that's when Alex rushed down the stairs to fight him."

"Why would she do that?"

"For some reason, she seems to be protecting me. I don't know why, but that's the second person who was gunning for me that she's killed."

Gates interrupted before Wolff could ask another question. "So, Alex started fighting Demon. What did you do?"

"I'd left my gun downstairs, so I came down to get it while Castle called it in. Demon managed to get around Alex before I got to my weapon. She saw that he was coming for me, grabbed the knife he'd failed to retrieve earlier and threw it at him. That's the knife that's still sticking out of his back. She stabbed him to death before I got to my gun and when I went for it, she took off. I tried to follow, but I don't know where she went."

Esposito came up to them. "I do. She went up to the roof, but we don't know where she went after that. The perimeter was set very quickly, but she's tricky. She probably had an escape route set up."

"So she's gone?"

"We haven't found her yet, but teams are looking."

Gates looked disappointed. "In the meantime, we'll set you up in a safe location…"

"No need." Castle put his phone in his pocket. "I've already made reservations for us at the Plaza. We'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll post an officer outside your door…"

Ryan interrupted. "I've got it. Jenny and the kids are with her parents this week."

Gates nodded. "That's settled then. I suggest you two grab some personal items and go. Ryan can drive you there. Esposito, you're in charge of this."

Wolff stepped into Beckett's way. "I'm not done yet."

Despite the fact that she was not a tall woman, Gates drew herself up to her full height and crossed her arms. "Actually, you are. My detective never discharged her weapon, so this is not an officer involved shooting. From what I've heard, Detective Beckett hasn't done anything wrong."

"Captain Gates…"

"Detective Wolff, I used to be in I.A. too. You've done your bit; it's time for you to go now."

Wolff looked around the loft and saw that many of the CSU techs had stopped to watch what was going on. With a curt nod to Gates, he left, barely avoiding a collision with one of the techs at the door.

Gates turned back to Beckett. "Get your things and go. We've got it here."

Beckett and Castle hastily packed their overnight bags and Ryan drove them to the Plaza. Castle checked them in as Beckett explained their situation to security; as long as his badge was always visible, Ryan was allowed to wonder the corridor on their floor and security would make sure to monitor the rest of the hotel a little more carefully. The trio made their way up to the twelfth floor and found the right room quickly. Ryan bid them goodnight and turned to start patrolling the floor.

As soon as the door closed, Kate found herself pinned to the wall next to the door. "Don't you ever do that again."

Kate was surprised by the commanding tone in Rick's voice. "What?"

"When I went to grab the phone, I told you to stay there. Instead, you went downstairs; right where two assassins with knives were fighting to the death. One of them was trying to kill you. Don't you ever do that again."

Kate understood what he meant. Once again, she had switched into cop mode and made the decision to put her life on the line to eliminate a threat instead of hanging back and letting someone else do it. Alex clearly knew how to handle herself in that kind of situation. Despite Demon's size advantage, Alex had not only held her own, she had come out on top.

Rick was waiting for her response. "You're right. But I can't promise it won't happen again. I can only promise to try."

"That will have to do." Hunger clouded his eyes as he captured her mouth in a kiss that was anything but chaste. Their tongues battled for dominance as they moved from the door toward the bedroom, shedding clothes as they went. The cop in Kate's brain was telling her they should check the room before they got too carried away, but her irrational side told her cop brain to shut up.

They somehow made it to the bed and collapsed onto it without breaking the kiss. Rick's hands were roaming her naked body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Kate moaned as Rick moved his mouth from hers and began sucking on her pulse point. _I'm glad Ryan is walking the halls and not standing right outside our room_. Rick moved his mouth back to hers as he entered her, not wasting much time with foreplay tonight. Tonight's sex was about passion and being thankful that she was still alive, not about tenderness and deep love. Tonight it was about feeling alive.

And Kate didn't mind. The adrenaline rush she'd felt back in the loft had not yet dissipated, making every touch, every caress feel that much stronger. With every thrust he made, she matched it with one of her own, building the rhythm until the world came crashing down around them when they arrived at their release. Afterward, they lay tangled in each other's limbs, neither moving to collect their bags from where they'd been abandoned earlier. Eventually Rick pulled down the covers and they crawled into the bed, too satisfied to do much more than that.

Well, that and get ready for round two.

* * *

Alex and Sloan didn't head to their latest home. Instead, Sloan headed for Connecticut and the safe house out there. Alex could tell that Sloan knew something she didn't, but he didn't elaborate. Sometimes it was better not to say anything until you were sure you were safe. They pulled into the garage of the suburban home and went inside. Sloan set the alarms and booted up his computers before he explained what he'd found.

"You know how the client and assassin can email each other through the Listing's site. Well, I hacked into the PMs between Freudian Slip and Demon. Demon gave the pun a phone number. I pulled the phone records and traced the call Demon received back to Asendorf. I also triangulated Demon's cell and found out he was near Castle's loft. I tried to call you, but you'd left your phone at the safe house."

"That's when you pulled your brother's toy out of storage and came to get me. Thanks by the way. My only other option was the sewer system."

"And that's never fun."

"Why would Asendorf hire someone to take out a mark he had been hired to kill?" Alex started pacing the floor.

Sloan was watching her. "He couldn't complete his contract because you'd killed his paycheck."

"And you put together that file that went to the Feds." Alex stopped pacing as a thought struck her. "He wanted to find out who was protecting her."

"So he put out a hit hoping whoever was protecting Beckett would see it and rush to her rescue."

"And that's why Demon never went in for the kill on me. He'd been told not to. Asendorf plans to kill me himself."

Sloan was shaking his head. "But in order to know, he'd have to see it was you. Right?"

"No. By now it'll be all over the police radios. If he has a scanner, he'll know I was there. And he'll be aiming for us." Alex sat down and sighed. "I'm going to have to face him."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Sloan was worrying that Alex was going to get herself killed; Alex was trying to figure out how she was going to get close enough without getting killed. The biggest problem was that Eagle Eye used guns and Alex used a knife. _I'm going to have to change the game_.

"It's no use. I'm going to have to use a gun." Alex stood and moved a wall panel in the living room, revealing a small collection of firearms. She ran her fingers across the slightly dusty collection, settling on a Glock 17. She opened a drawer nearby and grabbed a gun cleaning kit and ammunition before moving to the table.

Sloan was surprised. "You know how to use that?"

Alex chuckled. "Rathborne didn't just train me with knives. I learned guns too. He wanted to make sure I'd be prepared for every situation." With experienced hands, she took the gun apart, put on a pair of gloves and started cleaning each piece.

"So what's the plan?"

"Asendorf is planning on going after me. If I were to go after him, he would have the upper-hand and would kill me, just like he killed Falcon in Seattle. We need to bring him to us."

"How?"

Alex finished cleaning and oiling the magazine and started to load it. "We set a trap."

Sloan rolled his eyes. "I figured that out. I meant, what do we bait him with?"

"Something irresistible. Does he have a nemesis other than me?"

"Rumor has it that he lost a friend a few years ago. Viper killed him."

Alex carefully set down the loaded clip. "I've heard of her, but she's almost as elusive as Eagle Eye. Does Eagle Eye want her dead?"

Sloan nodded and then shrugged. "Well, that's what the rumors say. Apparently it was his best friend she killed. He swore he'd get revenge."

"I don't want to straight up put a hit out on her, but we have to lay out a few breadcrumbs to make it look like she's in town. Any ideas how we could do that?"

Sloan sat up with his fingers at the ready. "Well, what do you know about her? I could use that information to create a profile and pose as her. Maybe I'm looking for work in the Big Apple."

Alex sighed. "Well, she only goes after men because her technique is to seduce them before she poisons them with a concoction of snake venom and a few secret ingredients. And I know she's slightly older because she has a son about my age. I've met him."

Sloan grinned as he typed. "Were the two of you going after the same mark?"

Alex smirked. "No. But I did end up breaking his fingers. He's lucky I didn't kill him."

Sloan hadn't heard this story. "What?"

"This was back in Chicago. I was at a bar, looking for my mark when he came up to me and started chatting me up. By then I'd realized my mark wasn't going to show, so I played along. I thought it might be fun to get his hopes up and then shut him down. That is until I saw him slip something into my soda."

"He was trying to kill you?"

Alex nodded. "Not that I knew that at the time. I thought he was going for a date-rape, so I broke his fingers. It wasn't until later that I found out his name was Jaguar and his mother was the notorious Viper."

"If he uses poison, why is his name Jaguar?"

"Apparently he has a jaguar tattoo on his back. Not that I've seen it." Alex finished assembling the gun and set it down on the table. "If we can make it look like Viper is going to be somewhere, somewhere we've picked, we might be able to lure Asendorf into the trap."

Sloan sat back in his chair. "Could we ask her to play along?"

"After I had the audacity to break her baby's fingers? I don't think she's forgiven me for that yet. Though, to be fair, he was trying to kill me." Alex shook her head. "No, you're going to need to either hack her account, or make a new one that fits her."

"So, who should be the target?"

"Let's start with where we should set the trap. Snipers like areas that have multiple escape routes with easy access, but their perch needs to be concealed and free from potential witnesses. In a city like this, most rooftops are out."

"But a deserted floor of a building provides a lot of cover. There are a few spaces like that in the financial district and SoHo."

"Viper prefers clubs and bars that are street level. Again, multiple exits are preferred. I think SoHo is more her area. Can you do a search for buildings with deserted or under construction floors near a club in SoHo?"

Sloan turned to his computers. "I'll start looking."

Alex stood up and watched Sloan work from over his shoulder. Slowly, Alex rejected location after location. With some, there were too many deserted floors; others didn't fit the rest of the criteria for the type of club or bar. Alex wanted to force Eagle Eye into a very specific location, but the club had to fit Viper's profile just as much as it had to fit Eagle Eye's or he wouldn't fall for the rouse.

Finally, a location popped up that fit both needs. "Perfect."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was the first time I wrote any sort of sex scene. I hope you liked it. Please review; constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox, phnxgrl and fbobs for their reviews. Quillcox, we shall see... This chapter starts with the morning after. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 18

Kate woke the next morning slightly disoriented. The bed was too big and soft and the room was too large and bright to be their room. _We're at the Plaza; the loft is a crime scene_. Kate turned on her side and nestled into her fiancé's shoulder. He pulled her closer into his side and kissed the top of her head. She smiled, remembering the night before. They'd made love passionately before, but there was something about almost dying that made it seem more... _what was the word?_ _Significant, important, memorable?_ Rick was better at that sort of thing. Kate thought about the last time they had made love like that. It might have been four years ago when she'd arrived at Castle's loft dripping wet after Maddox had left her hanging off that rooftop. Or maybe three years ago when she'd accidentally stepped on that bomb...

Her thoughts where interrupted when Rick sat up in the bed. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

Kate rolled onto her back and stretched. "Good. You?"

"Yeah." Kate's stomach started grumbling and Rick chuckled. "We should get you something to eat. I'll order room service."

Kate got out of the bed and went to retrieve her bag. "We left quite the trail out here."

Rick was enjoying the view. "Well, when you get that feeling…"

Kate laughed as she grabbed her bag. "I'm not complaining." She returned to the bedroom, picking up their clothes as she went. "We just don't need room service to see all of that."

Rick picked up the phone. "Believe me; I'm sure they've seen worse."

"Personal experience?" He didn't respond as he dialed. "I'm going to take a bath."

He covered the mouthpiece. "Need me to help scrub your back?"

Kate shook her head, a smile on her lips. "Just get me some food." She entered the bathroom and turned on the tap in the tub for a bubble bath. Ignoring the hotel's offered soaps, Kate used the bottle she'd brought with her. The scent of cherries began to fill the room as the tub filled. _I'm glad Gates gave me the day off_. Sinking into the tub, she felt her muscles begin to relax in the hot water.

An hour later, she emerged from the bathroom wearing a fluffy robe, hair still damp from the bath. Rick had thrown on a T-shirt and pair of jeans and was putting the finishing touches on the table.

Kate noticed three plates at the table. "Is someone joining us?"

"No, but I didn't want Ryan to go hungry after volunteering for guard duty." He started removing covers from dishes and loaded up a plate for Ryan.

"He's still here?"

"He'll be relieved soon. I'll just run this to him." He opened the door to find Ryan getting ready to knock. "Hi. Breakfast?"

Ryan took the plate. "Thanks. I just wanted to let you know that my replacement is here." He looked at his plate. "Um…can I get…"

Rick snapped his fingers. "A fork." He grabbed one and returned to the door. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Ryan headed down the corridor and Rick closed the door.

"Okay, so we've got eggs and bacon, toast, strawberries, coffee, juice. Just take what you want and dig in."

Kate loaded up her plate and started eating. For a few minutes, they ate in silence. Rick reached his hand across the table and Kate took it, twinning her fingers with his. He smiled and picked up a strawberry, holding it out to her. She smiled back and took a bite, savoring the sweet but slightly tart flavor.

Rick finished off the strawberry. "This is nice. Just the two of us, a leisurely morning. We should make sure we take the time to do this every once in a while."

"It is nice." Kate took a bite of toast.

"Since we have this time, maybe we should start talking about getting married. We don't have to have anything set in stone, but we could start throwing around ideas. Get a better idea of what kind of wedding you want."

Kate nibbled on another strawberry as she thought. "I still want a small wedding…"

"With an aisle so your dad can walk you down it. I remember."

"But I'm still not sure about the location. A beach wedding in the Hamptons would be nice, but for some reason, I feel like I'm leaning toward a winter wedding."

Rick nodded. "And the Hamptons in the winter is not the best idea. A little cold."

"So, I'd want the ceremony to be indoors."

"We could rent a ballroom here or at another hotel. Those types of venues are smaller and they can be quickly transformed into the reception venue too. Plus, if any of the guests get too tipsy, they could rent a room."

Kate smiled. "That sounds nice."

"We could even bring a bit of the beach into it with the décor. Or maybe we should emphasize your cop pride. Have little centerpieces on the tables that use handcuffs in some way."

Kate burst out laughing. "No, I'd rather go with the beach theme. I'm not sure what I'd want actually. I've been looking through the idea book Lanie gave me, but I haven't really decided on anything yet."

Rick smiled. "We can figure that out together."

* * *

Alex stood under the fire escape of the building they were using for the trap. Sloan wasn't going to bait the trap until Alex was sure it would be a good place. She tossed a weighted rope through the bottom rung of the ladder and pulled it down. She then climbed up the ladder and made her way up until she reached the abandoned floor. Peaking in through the window, Alex saw that it was strewn with construction tools and supplies, but no one was working at the moment.

"Perfect."

Sloan was listening in through the Bluetooth. "_So it is abandoned_."

"Yes and no. There are some construction supplies here, but from the amount of dust on top of the drywall stacks, I'd say construction is at a halt right now. Definitely not used at night." Alex carefully wedged her gloved hands under the sill and eased the window open. She slipped inside, setting down her bag and making her way to the window with the best view of the club. She eased this window open too, checking to see if a sniper rifle would be able to get the right angle to shoot someone at the entrance to the club. _Perfect_.

Closing the window, Alex turned her attention to the room itself. In order to take Asendorf by surprise, she would need a good hiding place where she could see him, but he couldn't see her. Some stacks of drywall caught her eye. Hoping on top, she found she could reach up to the rafters.

She swung herself up and nestled among the conduits. "Sloan, I want to see if you can see me easily."

"_Okay, set down the camera_." Alex got down and opened her bag. She took out a box and extracted a globe camera out of it. Setting it down on the floor, she turned it on and got back into the rafters. Sloan finally spoke again. "_I can see you, but I think that might be mostly due to the fact that you're wearing a lighter colored shirt and it's still day. If you dressed in all black, I think you'd blend in enough to be overlooked_."

"Good to know." Alex got out of the rafters. "The window overlooking the club is perfect. And from the rafters, I could easily hit him. I'd say bait the trap."

"_You should probably get back here for that bit_._ You know the mind of an assassin better than I do_."

Alex laughed. "Copy that." She boxed up the globe camera and slipped it back into her bag before she headed out, making sure to cover up any disturbances she made on the way in. _Note to self, bring dust or a broom when I come back_. She didn't want to announce her presence by leaving a trail of footprints. She slipped out the window and glanced over the rail of the fire escape. What she saw made her quickly withdraw her head.

_Cops_. Instead of heading down, Alex went up to the roof. The two adjoining buildings were one floor taller than the one she was on. It was time to put her Parkour skills to the test. The bag was too heavy to run up the wall with it on, so Alex took it off, tying one end of the rope through the straps and the other to her belt. Then, with a running start, Alex used her momentum to run up the wall, grabbed the lip of the building, and pulled herself up and over the edge. She then pulled her bag up behind her and made her way to the nearest fire escape to get down to street level. Once she was back on the streets, she blended into the crowd and disappeared.

* * *

**Minutes earlier...**

Officer Miller thought they were wasting their time. A few minutes ago, someone had called in a possible trespasser or burglar who was using the fire escape as the access point. He hated getting these types of calls. Usually it was just some punk kid trying to catch a smoke away from the watchful eyes of their parents. Didn't New Yorkers get that fire escapes were often used as an additional set of stairs?

And then the head poked out. It was quick, which usually meant they felt they had something to hide. Thankfully, Miller's partner had gotten the ladder down already. Miller scrambled up it with his partner at his heels. Above them, they could hear the girl heading up as well, which meant she wasn't currently breaking and entering. He chanced a glance between the building and fire escape just in time to see the flash of a shoe going onto what must be the roof.

_Gotcha_. This building didn't have internal roof access and the fire escape was the only one on the building. Plus, the nearby buildings were all taller, so there was no way out. She was trapped unless she took the express route. One floor from the roof, he drew his gun, ready to show the latest punk kid who was boss. His partner followed suit, trying to be brave like his T.O. Miller climbed the last set of stairs and took his stance.

"Freeze!" Miller was stunned. The rooftop was empty, but there was no screaming on the street. Where could she have gone? He chanced a glance over the edge of the building. _No body there_. How did she disappear?

His rookie called him over. "Sir? I think she knows how to 'Freerun'."

"What makes you say that?"

"There's footprints on the wall. Right here. She probably went up to the next rooftop. She could be anywhere by now."

Miller knew this was a waste of his time now. "Punk kids."

* * *

Alex set her bag down just inside the door to the safe-house. That run-in with the cops had been close. Hopefully they hadn't recognized her and just thought she was some punk kid. She sighed and headed deeper into the apartment.

Sloan turned around as she approached. "I see you got away again."

"Police scanner?"

"Heard a trespassing got called in, but didn't think about the location. I would have given you a heads up if I had."

Alex pulled her hair out of her ponytail. "That's okay. What did the cops say about it?"

"That it was just someone practicing freerunning. I've erased the bulletin about it."

"Good. No need to tip off Asendorf."

"Speaking of Asendorf, did you want to get started baiting that trap?"

Alex shook her head. "Not tonight. You may have erased the bulletin, but the cops might still be sitting on the place. I don't want to get arrested, and I don't want to spook our mark either. Let's wait a couple of days to let the heat on the location die down."

She flipped on the TV and tuned to a news program. The first few stories were of little interest to Alex; she was more concerned with what might be happening in the underground, even if the reporters didn't know all the details. The war in the Middle East, a large snowstorm in Maine that had shut down an airport, and the weather forecast were great things for normal citizens to know about, but Alex wanted to know what other assassins might be up to, specifically Asendorf. So far though, it looked like he'd been quiet too. It wasn't until halfway through the broadcast that something caught her interest.

"_There has been an arrest in the Delgado case_._ 27 year-old Juan Fernandez has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, 26 year-old Nancy Delgado_._ Detective Slaughter_..." A picture of Slaughter was flashed across the screen.

"No way."

Sloan came out of the kitchen with a bowl of leftover pasta. "What?"

"I killed him. Or at least I thought I had. Back in Chicago." Alex went over to Sloan's computers.

"By all means, help yourself."

Alex ignored him. "It was just before I was relocated to England."

"This is one of the cops who put a hole in you?"

"He was the one who put the first bullet through my shoulder." She finished typing and pulled up a newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune. "Here it is. 'Detective Slaughter is expected to survive his injuries following the attempt on his life Saturday evening. Slaughter was attacked by an unknown assailant near South Halstead and West 60th in Englewood. Police are still looking for the suspect.'"

"I take it they never found you."

"No, I shipped out for London the morning after I attacked him. I'd just assumed he'd died."

"You normally wait until they're dead before you leave them."

"Normally, yes. Unfortunately there was a guy walking his dog that night. I had to leave before he could get a good look."

Sloan joined her at the computer. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Can you check out his employment record?"

Sloan took his seat. "Sure. You want to know if he's still a dirty cop."

"When he tried to kill me in Chicago, it was after he had me kill a C.I. of his who'd been informing for both sides. I knew the details and could finger him for the case if I ever got arrested. He didn't like that kind of a loose end."

Sloan pulled up Slaughter's record. "Wow, his record is colorful."

Alex read over his shoulder. "Tons of civilian complaints and citations. Several character hearings. Hunh, Castle testified at one; gave Slaughter a good review." Alex stood up and scoffed. "Oh please, Castle most likely got strong-armed into that one. Slaughter is still a crooked cop."

"So what are you going to do?"

Alex picked up her knife. "I'd say it's time to finish the job I started."

* * *

**A/N: Even Alex has side cases. I don't know if you've noticed, but I like bringing characters from the show into my story (it's like the way Castle brings Firefly references into their show). Anyway, please leave a review. I love hearing what you guys think!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox and phnxgrl for their reviews. Quillcox, Firefly references happen a lot on Castle actually. Sometimes it's actors who were on Firefly making an appearance on Castle (i.e. Adam Baldwin played Detective Slaughter/Jayne Cobb and Gina Torres played Penelope Foster/Zoe Washburn) or tiny hidden references. Here's a video someone put together to showcase some of the moments in the first three seasons (remove the spaces and replace 'dot' with a period) www dot youtube dot com/ watch?v = aFj8eFZx- TA**

**While Alex and Sloan were talking last chapter, Kate and Rick were busy too. This chapter starts with what they were up to. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 19

Kate and Rick spent the day checking out hotel ballrooms. There weren't very many locations that felt right, but a couple had potential. Like the one here at the Plaza, though Kate was personally leaning toward the Beaumont. Rick had been a little hesitant about that one, but it was still on the list.

They returned to the room in the early afternoon. "I'm gonna order up some dinner. Want anything specific?"

Kate shook her head. "No, just surprise me."

"You got it."

Kate picked up her phone and called Lanie. "Hey, it's me. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

Lanie sounded like she was in a car. "_Nope_. _Just heading to dinner with my husband for a date night_. _What's up?_"

"I left the binder you gave me at the loft. Any chance you or Esposito could run by and pick it up? Ryan says it's still at the crime scene."

"_I saw it there last night and took it with me_. _It's in the trunk of Javi's car_. _We're actually headed in your direction and can drop it off on our way to dinner if you want_."

"That'd be great."

"_So, if you want the binder, does that mean you're starting to really plan?_"

Kate blushed. "Maybe. No, we're just starting to discuss some ideas since we had time on our hands today. Nothing is even remotely set yet."

"_Un-hunh_. _Fine, keep secrets_."

"Lanie…"

Lanie laughed. "_I'm teasing_. _I'll see you in a few_."

"Thanks."

"_No problem Honey_."

Rick emerged from the bedroom. "Dinner is ordered. Who was that?"

"Lanie. I called her to have her bring over the idea notebook."

"Oh, good. We can look at that after dinner." He pulled her into his arms for a kiss. "Today was a good day. No cases to solve; just you, me, and our plans for the future."

Kate wrapped her arms around him and gave him another kiss. "It was nice. You're right, we should make sure we take a day for us every once in a while."

Rick kissed her again. "We have a little time before dinner gets here…"

Kate laughed and pulled away. "We have all night. I wouldn't want to spoil your appetite…"

Rick growled. "That's not very nice."

"I don't play fair, Kitten."

There was a knock on the door. "You are so saved by the door."

He opened the door to find a uniform standing outside. "Mr. Castle, Detective Beckett. I'm Officer Rime and I'll be outside your room tonight."

"Okay, um, well, we've got room service coming soon and Dr. Parish from the M.E.'s office is on her way to drop something off. Other than that, we aren't expecting anyone."

"Good to know. Um, I'll just be patrolling out here."

Rick was about to close the door when Lanie's voice called out. "Hold it."

Rick opened the door wide. "Hey Lanie. Come on in."

Kate hugged her best friend. "That was fast."

"Javi used the siren. Here's the binder. I've got to go. Enjoy your evening."

"Goodnight Lanie."

* * *

Slaughter was drunk and he liked it. Today had been a great day. He'd arrested another scumbag who'd lost his temper and killed his girlfriend with the nearest weapon he could find. It hadn't been hard either. Throw the boyfriend in the trunk, do a few donuts, that boy had been singing his guts out after just one round. Kinda disappointing if he was honest about it.

He downed his beer and signaled the bartender for another. So what if he had to work tomorrow? It wasn't like he wasn't used to it. Walking into the office hung-over or a little buzzed, that was just another day, another dollar.

A chick with short black hair sat down next to him. "Virgin apple martini, please."

"A virgin hunh? Never thought I'd meet one of those in a place like this." Slaughter took a swig of his beer.

"I'm allergic to alcohol, but I like the martini taste. Plus, I don't want to be hung-over at work tomorrow."

"Hi, I'm Ethan." He extended his hand.

"Kaylee Frye."

"So, Kaylee. What do you do?"

"I'm a financial fraud investigator. I know, not very exciting. How about you?"

"I'm a cop." Slaughter put his badge up on the bar. "You haven't been naughty, have you?"

Kaylee cocked an eyebrow. "You're that kind of cop. For a minute there, I actually thought your badge was real."

Slaughter was hurt. "I am a real cop. A detective actually. Was on the news earlier too. Got an arrest this morning. You might have heard about it. The Delgado case."

"I think I did hear about that. Nancy, wasn't it?"

"Yep. Her boyfriend killed her because he thought she was cheating on him."

Her martini arrived. "Well, here. To investigators."

He tapped his bottle against her glass. "Damn straight."

They got to talking. Slaughter had another beer and Kaylee had another virgin martini. Slaughter liked that Kaylee had such an easy laugh and she was cute too. She was a little young, sure, but she seemed to be into him. Slowly, the bar around them emptied out until it was just the two of them and a couple other people.

Slaughter looked around. "Well, it looks like we closed this place down. What do you say we get out of here?"

"My place is a block away."

_Yes!_ "That sounds great." Slaughter helped Kaylee into her coat, slipped into his and followed her outside.

Outside, they fell into step with each other. She started talking a little more about her latest case. He had to admit, numbers were not interesting. _I'm glad I'm not going to be with her long term_. She was cute and all, and something about her seemed familiar, but her job was kind of a bummer. Let's face it, he just wanted to get laid.

They came up to an alleyway. "This is a shortcut to my place. I hate going down it at night."

Slaughter puffed out his chest to show he was brave. "You want me to go first?"

Kaylee smiled. "That'd be great. Thanks."

Slaughter turned and started walking down the alley. "Don't worry, you're with a cop. No one's going to hurt you as long as you're with me…"

White hot flames burned in the lower left of his back. Slaughter had felt this pain before, back in Chicago. _Oh, no_. He knew now who Kaylee really was and how he recognized her. He also knew that this time, he wasn't going to survive.

"Did you really think I'd forget about you just because you left Chicago? You don't get to kill me and get away with it."

Slaughter collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. He tried to move, but the pain had him completely immobilized. Blackness started to gather at the edges of his vision as consciousness slowly started to fade. _I knew I should have just gone home tonight_.

* * *

**Hours earlier…**

Sloan had been creative and tracked Slaughter to a dive bar in the Bronx. Alex figured he'd be drunk by the time she arrived, so she'd only put on a short black wig to disguise herself. In fact, it would almost be more fun to see his reaction if he did recognize her. Alex was surprised when she entered the bar and hung up her coat. Sloan had described it as a dive, but by the look of things, it might have recently been given a facelift. The tables and floor were clean and the lighting was at the perfect balance between being bright enough to see but dimmed for atmosphere. Her eyes scanned the crowd and located Slaughter at the bar finishing off a beer and signaling for another one. She adjusted her blazer and made her way over to him.

She took the seat at the bar next to her mark. "Virgin apple martini, please."

"A virgin hunh? Never thought I'd meet one of those in a place like this." He took a swig of his beer.

Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes and proceeded to lay down her cover story. "I'm allergic to alcohol, but I like the martini taste. Plus, I don't want to be hung-over at work tomorrow."

Slaughter took the bait. "Hi, I'm Ethan." He extended his hand.

She shook it. "Kaylee Frye."

"So, Kaylee. What do you do?"

She decided to stick with what she knew. "I'm a financial fraud investigator. I know, not very exciting. How about you?"

"I'm a cop." Slaughter put his badge up on the bar with the air of a man who felt she should be massively impressed by him. "You haven't been naughty, have you?"

She wanted to roll her eyes at that terrible pickup line, but she settled for cocking an eyebrow. "You're that kind of cop. For a minute there, I actually thought your badge was real."

Apparently no one had had the nerve to imply he might be a stripper when he used that line. "I am a real cop. A detective actually. Was on the news earlier too. Got an arrest this morning. You might have heard about it. The Delgado case."

_So he's still an egomaniac with the need to prove himself_. "I think I did hear about that. Nancy, wasn't it?" She wanted to play to his ego; get him to let down his guard around her.

It worked. "Yep. Her boyfriend killed her because he thought she was cheating on him."

_How many rounds of donuts with him in your trunk did that confession take? _Her martini arrived and she raised her glass in a toast. "Well, here. To investigators."

He tapped the neck of his bottle against her glass. "Damn straight."

And they got to talking. Alex was careful to keep the conversation on him, not her. She had plenty of investigation stories she could tell him, but right now she had to keep up the charade. To him, she was Kaylee, a financial fraud investigator who was enjoying his company. Maybe she was looking to take him home later (though what woman in her right mind would?), but she was definitely looking to not be alone while she had her virgin martinis.

Alex was looking for an opening to kill him. In the bar was too risky because of all the eyes. She didn't want to be pushy because that might raise a red flag. It looked like she'd have to sit it out and wait for him to make the first move. Alex patted down the front of her blazer to check the hidden pocket. _Good, my knife is still there_.

Near two in the morning, Slaughter finally looked around at the nearly empty bar. "Well, it looks like we closed this place down. What do you say we get out of here?"

Alex gave a mental sigh of relief. _I thought you'd never ask_. "My place is a block away."

The pleased expression that flashed across his face betrayed how much he wanted to get laid. "That sounds great."

In a rare show of gentlemanly behavior, Slaughter helped Alex into her coat on their way out the door. _He must really want to get lucky_. Outside she let him fall into step with her. He was weaving slightly, the beer and shots he drank making him unstable on his feet. Alex started talking about a Hardy and Drew case she'd worked on in Chicago. His body language said he was bored with what she was talking about, but he stayed quiet. Up ahead, there was an alley that was empty of potential witnesses.

She stopped at the entrance to the alleyway. "This is a shortcut to my place. I hate going down it at night."

Slaughter stuck out his chest in a classic "let-me-be-your-hero" routine. "You want me to go first?"

Alex smiled; he had just given her exactly what she wanted. "That'd be great. Thanks."

He turned and started going down the alley, a smirk adorning his features. "Don't worry, you're with a cop. No one's going to hurt you as long as you're with me…"

_Except me_. Alex pulled her knife out of its hidden pocket and stabbed, aiming for his left kidney. She twisted the knife and he went ridged.

She took the time to hiss a last taunt in his ear. "Did you really think I'd forget about you just because you left Chicago? You don't get to kill me and get away with it."

With that she released his coat, letting him collapse on the ground. His breathing was heavy as she stabbed him twice more. It looked like he was trying to reach for something, so she relieved him of his gun, backup, wallet, and badge. Slaughter finally stopped moving, and after another couple minutes, Alex could no longer feel his pulse. She retrieved her bag from the trashcan she'd stashed it in and rinsed off her knife and hands before removing the clips and spare bullets from the guns and stowing the lot away.

Alex pulled her cell from her pocket. "Sloan, it's me. Job's done. Any chatter on the scanners?"

"No, that area is quiet for now; although there is a cruiser in the neighborhood. I'd suggest you get out of there."

"Copy that."

Alex ended the call and shouldered her bag. If there was a cruiser in the area, she didn't want to be anywhere near here when it rolled by. If they saw Slaughter's body, every available cop would be called into the area. The quickest way to get out of here was the subway. The 6 train was close. Alex checked that the coast was clear and headed to the Brook Ave entrance.

* * *

**A/N: I loved Detective Slaughter on the show. He was such a crazy character. He felt like the kind of dirty cop Alex might have run across in Chicago. Plus the actor was on Firefly and I loved that show too. Anyone else love to catch the Firefly**** references in Castle? Please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox and phnxgrl for their reviews. Quillcox: sorry for making it painfully obvious :). Here's the next chapter. Starting with Beckett's POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 20

Dawn was barely breaking when Kate's phone rang. "Beckett."

It was Ryan. "This is your 5:32am wakeup call. We've got a body."

"Where?" He rattled off the address. "Ryan, that's in the Bronx. Not our jurisdiction."

"It is when Alex is involved."

"Can you and Esposito handle it for now?" Kate was reluctant to get out of bed.

Ryan hesitated. "Kate, she killed a cop. Detective Ethan Slaughter."

"I'm on my way." Beckett ended the call and moved to get out of bed.

Rick's arm snaked out and grabbed hers. "Where are you going?" His voice was still thick with sleep.

"Alex killed a cop in the Bronx. It's all hands on deck."

Castle rolled out of bed and grabbed his pants. "We'll grab coffee on our way."

Beckett quickly got dressed. "You worked with Detective Slaughter a few years ago."

"Yeah. He almost got me killed a couple times. Why? Is he the detective in charge?"

"He's the victim."

Castle stopped halfway through buttoning his shirt. "Alex killed Slaughter? Why?"

Beckett finished buttoning Castle's shirt for him. "I guess we'll find out." She returned to her bag to get her gun and badge. "Let's go."

* * *

The taxi dropped them off a block away from the crime scene almost an hour after Ryan called. The coroner's van was already there, as were more than a dozen blue and whites with their lights flashing. The entire block had been cordoned off and a large crowd was gathering outside the perimeter, trying to figure out what had happened.

Castle noticed a bar on the block. "He liked to drink, even on the job. She might have ambushed him when he left that bar."

Beckett nodded. "I'll make sure we check that out."

Lanie met them at the inner perimeter. "I'm actually not sure if this really is Alex's work."

Beckett followed her friend to the body. "Why's that?"

"Alex and Rathborne always hit the right kidney. Slaughter was hit in the left."

"Do you think it might be a copycat?"

"Could be. Unless she had a history with him and knew something we don't. I'll make a mold of the wound; see what I can find out."

"Thanks." Beckett stared at Slaughter's body. His clothes were slightly rumpled around his waist right where his gun holster and badge would be, as was his right pant leg where his backup would have been. His right arm was also extended, like he was trying to reach for something. "What's the T.O.D.?"

"I'd say between two and three last night."

Beckett turned to Ryan. "Any witnesses?"

He shook his head. "Call came in at five. When Lanie got here, she called Javi and me and I called you. He was found by two cops who were patrolling the area. They didn't see anyone nearby."

"Were his guns and badge collected already?"

"No, they were missing when we got here. His wallet was missing too. If Alex killed him, either she took them or someone riffled over his body and took all the valuables. Esposito went to the bar over there to talk to the manager."

"Alex is definitely the killer. Bar manager I.D.'d her as the woman he was drinking with last night. Said her name was Kaylee Frye. He remembered because she was drinking virgin apple martinis from a little after ten until just before two. It looks like she's cut and dyed her hair again though. Bar manager said it was short and black."

Beckett nodded. "She didn't want to be drunk when she killed him. We need to go through his life and find out who wanted him dead or if Alex had a personal reason to kill him."

Ryan pocketed his notebook. "We'll start with the guys at his precinct. Maybe they'll know something."

Ryan and Esposito turned and got into their car. Beckett watched as Lanie's assistants put Slaughter's body in a body bag and wheeled him away. Several cops saluted as he went by. Crooked or not, Slaughter was one of their own.

Gates arrived as the coroner's van left. "So, was this Alex?"

"Yes sir, it looks that way. She was seen drinking with him at the bar down the block."

"Do you think it was a paid hit?"

Beckett shrugged. "I think it's too soon to know. We're going to have to wait for Dr. Parish's autopsy and dig into his personal life a little; see if there was someone in his life who might have wanted him dead."

Gates nodded. "Keep me updated. And catch her. No one gets to kill a member of the NYPD and get away with it."

* * *

_Alex was enjoying a nice meal at a fancy French restaurant_. _Even though she was alone at her table, it was still a wonderful way to spend the morning_. _There was even a patron across the room who was eyeballing her_. _Too bad he was also her mark_.

_Suddenly, she got the distinct feeling she was being watched_. _She shifted in her seat so she could use the unused Champagne bucket as a mirror to see behind her_. _No one was there_. _Alex resumed eating, making sure to smile at her mark, hoping to encourage him to come over to her table_. _He smiled back and gave a quick nod of his head_. _A hand flashed out, covering her mouth_. _Before she could do anything, she saw the briefest flash of a blade before it cut into her skin and slit her throat_.

Alex jolted awake, left hand flicking out and sending a knife in the general direction of the doorway. Sloan dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding being impaled by the blade. Alex did a quick inventory of her surroundings while she waited for her heart rate and breathing to settle. _I'm in one of my safe houses_.

Sloan was shaken. "What was that for?!"

"I'm sorry. But don't sneak up on me when I'm sleeping. Rathborne made sure to train my dreams to warn me when there's a potential danger."

"He trained your dreams?"

Alex groaned as she lay back down. "More like my dreams are how I know I'm in danger. Just now, I had my throat slit by an unseen assassin."

"Pleasant. And how am I a potential danger? You know me."

"You're not a threat. But we are in danger. Asendorf is still out there."

Sloan pulled the knife out of the wall a brought it back to Alex, sitting on the edge of her bed. "So in the future, I should announce my presence when I'm coming in."

Alex smiled as she sat up and slipped the knife back under her pillow. "That would be best. I'm assuming you've got something or you wouldn't have put yourself in mortal danger."

"You're officially on the NYPD's Most Wanted List now. Congratulations."

Alex gave a sarcastic fist pump. "Yay me. That was the bad news. What's the good news?"

Sloan smirked. "The good news is they think you cut your hair again and dyed it black, so hopefully you'll have a bit more of a leeway with your disguises."

"I'm not worried about my disguises. I'm worried that my most wanted status will make it harder to get Asendorf."

"Yeah, it might. You want something to eat? I made pancakes."

"Sure." Alex followed him out to the kitchen. "Actually, it might make it easier."

Sloan started dishing up a plate. "How so?"

"We know he's well connected, or at least well informed. He'll have heard about this. And he'll think that my next move will be to go to ground. That's what he would do if the heat gets to be too much."

"Meaning he won't think to look for you." He set the plate down in front of her and handed her the raspberry syrup. "So what do you want to do?"

"Let's bait the trap."

* * *

Beckett and Castle strode into the morgue at ten. "What do you have for me, Lanie?"

"Alex knew something we didn't. The wound mold confirmed the knife was a Wingwalk and the bruising matches her previous work. It was her."

Castle stopped next to the table. "So what did she know that we didn't?"

Lanie's face was smug. "He doesn't have a right kidney." She turned to her assistant. "Help me turn him." Slaughter's body was turned over so they could see his back. "See this scarring?"

"He was attacked before." Beckett turned from Slaughter's body to Lanie. "Alex tried to kill him before?"

"Yep. His medical records came in half an hour ago and confirmed it. In 2008, he was attacked by an unknown assailant and lost his right kidney."

Beckett furrowed her brow. "I don't remember hearing about that."

"You wouldn't. It happened in Chicago."

Castle turned to Beckett. "Alex was in Chicago back in 2008. She didn't come here until 2009."

"Right." Beckett shook her head to clear it. "What else did you find?"

"He had a Blood Alcohol Level of .078. I did the math. That's consistent with the amount he drank at the bar. Other than that, there really isn't anything more I can tell you. His death was fairly straightforward. The circumstances…that's your area of expertise."

Beckett smiled. "Thanks Lanie."

Castle followed Beckett to the elevator. "Are you okay?"

"Two nights ago, she breaks into our home, the home of a cop, and holds me, the cop, at knife point to warn us about an assassin. That same assassin is killed within minutes. Last night, she kills a cop she's tried to kill once before. Why? What's the connection?"

"Is there a connection?"

"Castle, you know how I don't believe in coincidence."

"Not believing in coincidences doesn't mean they don't exist." The elevator arrived and they boarded it. "Maybe there is no connection between the two events besides cops and Alex. The timing of the events could actually be coincidence. For all we know, she was following Slaughter for weeks before she killed him. Demon could have been a case of bad timing."

"What do you mean?"

"When she broke in, she said she'd just run across the contract and needed to warn us right away. She couldn't just call because we'd changed our numbers. In the long run, it was good that she came to warn us because it put her in a position to eliminate the threat."

"Gates doesn't see it that way."

"Gates isn't your fiancé." They stepped off the elevator and Castle followed Beckett to the break room. "I'm just saying, I'm glad she was there to protect you."

Beckett smiled as she started the coffee machine. "Me too. Except for the part where it turned our loft into a crime scene."

"Yeah, well."

"Yo Beckett. You need to see this." Castle and Beckett joined the boys at Ryan's desk. "We pulled up the report for the first time Slaughter was attacked. He survived because someone saw the attack and scared the assailant away. The witness never got a good look because it was night and the attacker was wearing a hoodie, but that's how he survived."

"The witness called 911?"

Ryan nodded. "And there was an emergency room just a few blocks away. Slaughter lost a kidney, but got to keep his life."

"Good news for him I guess." Castle wandered over to the board. "I don't see how it helps us though."

Esposito smiled. "Don't give up so easily. We think we might know why Alex tried to kill him in Chicago. Five months before he was attacked, there was an officer involved shooting. Slaughter was the only cop there, no corroborating witnesses. He said he was in pursuit of a female suspect when she met up with two other people who fired at him."

Ryan continued the story. "He fired back and hit one of them. He claimed he never got a good look at them and that after he hit one of them, the others unloaded in his direction, forcing him to take cover. He sustained no injuries."

Beckett was confused. "What does that have to do with Alex?"

"I.A. was all over that scene. They couldn't find anything to support that anyone else was there. All they had was a little blood spatter that came back to an unknown female." Ryan pulled up a new page on his screen. "Chicago P.D. reran that sample this morning hoping it might come back to a Jane Doe somewhere."

"It matched Alex." Beckett leaned back and crossed her arms. "So he shot Alex."

"What happened to Slaughter?" Castle was looking at the board.

"He was suspended for a month while they investigated." Esposito sat down in his chair. "Slaughter stuck to his story and the suspect slash victim never came forward. He was allowed to come back, but I.A. was keeping a close watch on him."

"That's probably what prompted him to transfer to New York." Beckett moved to stand in front of the board. "So you guys are theorizing that Alex killed Slaughter for shooting her."

Castle moved to stand next to her. "I am so glad I got you that new vest."

* * *

**A/N: What's going to happen now? Leave a review and stay tuned!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox and phnkgrl for their reviews. Here's the next chapter. We're starting with Alex this time. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 21

"Come here and tell me what you think."

Alex went over to Sloan's workspace. "Which profile is this?"

"The client. I've tried to leave enough detail out to make him seem a bit paranoid. Meet Perry Noyd Jacobi, an investment banker who lost a bit of money when another, younger investment banker made some bad decisions with his money."

"I see you're trying your hand at punny names."

"To obvious?"

"Maybe. The mark is the younger banker?"

"Yes. The mark is Parker Clint. He's 28, lives in SoHo and is a regular at the club. He likes shiny, fast cars, top-shelf booze and older women."

"Perfect mark for Viper. Do you have a picture?"

"Screen three. I morphed together features from three models who live and work in L.A. With any luck, no one in the bar will actually look like this."

Alex turned from the computer monitor to Sloan. "What do you mean, 'with any luck'? Viper isn't going to be there. She's still in London."

Sloan shook his head. "Unless someone else is trolling around using her profile, she's just popped back up in the area. She's looking for work."

"We'll need the mark to be irresistible. How quickly can you set up an account for Mr. Jacobi?"

"Give me a few hours, I'll set up a convincing paper trail. I was going to set the contract at half a million. Does that sound too good to be true?"

"For someone who's had a bad run in the market, yeah. Set it at 150." Alex looked down at screen six. "And we'll have to set it for tomorrow night."

Sloan stopped typing. "Why?"

Alex pointed to the computer screen. "She just took a job for tonight."

"She's in a hurry."

"It makes sense. If she had to get out of London in a hurry, she'd have to burn a lot of resources. She probably needs the money."

Sloan started typing again and then paused. "Is she the kind to check out a client before she takes the mark?"

"Not usually. Though having a paper trail for Jacobi wouldn't be a bad idea. How paranoid is he?"

"Very."

Alex nodded. "Then I guess making the paper trail hard to find would be a good idea."

Sloan smirked. "This isn't the first time I've done something like this, you know."

Alex smiled. "Sorry. I'm just stressed about all this. Do we know what Asendorf's up too?"

"A Directory who owed me a favor called this morning. Badger said Asendorf is still trying to locate you. He sounded scared; said he didn't want to get caught in a turf war."

"Did Badger tell you anything else?" Sloan shook his head. "That's too bad." She sighed. "Okay, I'm going to go work out and leave you to it. Holler if you need me."

"You got it."

* * *

That night, Beckett and Castle got to return to the loft. It had been released around noon, so Castle had hired a crime scene cleanup company to clean and fix whatever was bloody or had holes. They had finished ahead of schedule, allowing Beckett and Castle to check out of the Plaza and return home.

Rick set down his bag just inside the door. "Looks like they got everything. Want something to eat?"

Kate nodded and followed him to the kitchen. "Does this feel weird at all?"

"Why, because a man was killed in the other room?" He paused in the middle of grabbing a pot. "Not really. I've killed several people in my living room. Though cleanup was much easier; the bodies were all in my head."

"I guess when the redecorating is done, we won't think about that anymore."

Rick put the pot of water on the stove to boil. "Probably. I'm thinking the redecorating will be a bit more involved now though. I mean, it looks like cleanup did a good job, but I think I want to get the floors redone now. Just in case some blood dripped into the cracks at all."

"I hear you. What do you think? Similar pattern but a little lighter?"

"You want to go lighter?"

She nodded. "Maybe a deep mahogany color. Or a red walnut."

"Oh, I like that. A richer wood tone."

Kate got to work on the pasta sauce. "So, what's wrong with the Beaumont?"

He answered a little too quickly. "Nothing's wrong with it."

"Rick, I know you. You were hesitant while we were looking at it. Is it because Kyra got married there?"

He sighed. "Yeah. I mean, in the long run, I know Kyra and I never would have worked. But for years, I felt like she was the one that got away. Getting married in the same place she did would just feel weird."

"What if I said that's where I wanted to get married?"

Rick pulled her into his arms. "Then I would put aside my feelings toward the place and just marvel that I was getting to marry the most beautiful woman in the world in a majestic setting like that."

Kate smiled. "Good." She kissed him before pulling away and stirring the sauce.

Rick put the noodles in the boiling water. "Is that where you want to get married?"

Kate shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. Can you grab the basil for me?"

"Sure." He grabbed the basil and handed it to her. "So what are we going to do about Slaughter's case?"

Kate paused, thinking about how the case was going nowhere fast. "Gates won't like it, but it's probably going to end up in the pile of unsolved Shadow Fox cases on my desk. I mean, it's not like we're actually any closer to arresting Alex. We don't know where she went after she killed him, or where she's living right now."

"She's living in the shadows."

Kate nodded and grabbed the colander. "She's good at that. Let's eat." Rick helped Kate strain the water out of the noodles and they loaded up their plates. Dinner was served.

* * *

Alex came down the stairs wearing all black with a black backpack. "Is the packet ready?"

Sloan gestured to the manila envelope. "Right there. It's everything I could find to prove Asendorf was the man who hired Demon."

"Good." Alex slipped a paper into the back of the envelope, grabbed a pen and labeled the envelope, "For Detective Beckett, 12th precinct," before putting it in her bag and shrugging into a tan overcoat.

"That's a bit bright, don't you think?"

"It'll help me not look like a burglar heading to a job in SoHo. I'll just look like someone heading home from a day out." Alex shouldered her bag. "Did Viper bite?"

"Yes. I'm going with a fifty-fifty."

"So you've already wired her some of the money?"

"Thought she should get something for us putting her life in danger."

Alex nodded. "That's fair. I'm off. When does her 'mark' arrive?"

Sloan smirked. "He likes to arrive about midnight."

"She'll get there around eleven. Asendorf will probably get there around nine. I've got two hours. Wish me luck."

Sloan stood and gave her a hug. "Good luck." He hesitated a moment and then kissed her cheek.

"You missed."

"What?"

Alex gave him a peck on the lips. "I said, you missed." She headed for the door. "I'll call you when he's dead."

Sloan grabbed a coat and his Ipad. "Actually, I think I'll come with you. You might need a set of eyes on the ground."

Alex cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"While you were changing, I was checking for cameras near or at the club and I couldn't find very many that operate on a wireless network. If Viper shows up early, you won't know about it because I won't see it."

"Does your Ipad let you hack into the cameras in the area?"

"It connects me to my network, which yes, has hacked into the cameras. I will literally be your eyes in the area."

Alex sighed and grabbed a Bluetooth. "Fine. But radio silence unless I need to know something."

Sloan put on his coat with a grin. "Excellent. Let's go kill a bad guy."

* * *

Alex arrived at the alleyway about 8:15. She slipped into the shadows of the dark alley and shed her coat, shoving it into her bag. She then removed the weighted rope from a side pocket and quickly pulled down the ladder, scaling it and climbing the stairs until she arrived at the right floor. The window still wasn't latched, so Alex opened it and slipped through, making sure to close it behind her.

The stack of drywall was still under her perch. Alex opened her bag again and pulled out three folded pieces of construction sheeting and a soft hand broom. She draped one sheet over a stack of drywall across the room from the window and another was draped around a pile of support beams that were leaning against the wall. She then tucked her gun and loaded magazine into a spot near her perch before stashing her bag behind the support beams, making sure that the sheeting covered it from view. Once she was sure the bag couldn't be seen unless someone was looking for it, Alex used the soft broom to erase all of her footprints.

"_You prepped yet?_"

Alex took a look at her surroundings from on top of her stack of drywall. "Yeah. And didn't I say I would call you?"

"_No, you said radio silence unless you needed to know something_._ Listen, I can see Asendorf on the traffic cameras_. _He's a few blocks away with a large, ridged case you'd carry canvases in_. _Not out of place in the artistic area of town, but I'm fairly certain he doesn't have self-portraits in there_."

Alex carefully laid out the last piece of sheeting before swinging herself up into the rafters. "You're probably right. A little quiet would be really good right about now."

"_Copy that_."

She slammed the magazine home and took off the safety before settling in for the wait. After what seemed like an hour, the window at the fire escape creaked open. Alex resisted the urge to turn and check who was entering the room. Sounds from the outside were cut off again as the window closed. A man entered Alex's line of sight. He was in his late forties or early fifties carrying a large, ridged canvas case. _Asendorf_.

He set down the case and opened it, pulling out several items wrapped in fabric. Asendorf unwrapped the items and carefully assembled the gun, his skilled hands never making a mistake. Once his baby was put together, he turned the case upside down; the magazine tumbled out. Setting the clip down next to his gun, he shoved all the rags back into the case and set it aside. Alex was holding her breath. So far, Asendorf had done exactly what she thought he would, right down to when he would arrive. At the moment, he was opening the windows along the front of the building, checking the angles. He settled on the one Alex had determined best two days earlier. He then selected a crate from a stack against the wall and used it to set up his perch.

Sloan broke his silence, but this time in a whisper. "_Alex, Viper is in line for the club_. _If you're gonna kill him, I'd suggest you do it sooner rather than later_."

_She's early_. Alex slowly retrieved her gun from where she'd tucked it. Asendorf turned his head as though he had heard something and Alex froze. Eventually Asendorf must have decided that the noise came from outside or on a different floor, because he turned his attention back to what he could see through the scope. Alex freed the gun from its hiding space and carefully took aim.

The first shot hit him in the back of his right shoulder and he jerked, dropping Vera in the process. He drew a handgun from his waistband as he stood up and turned around. Alex shot him again, hitting him in the abdomen. He dropped to his knees and Alex shot again, hitting him in the chest. With a final grunt, he keeled over backwards.

Alex waited for a few moments before she lowered herself from the rafters and slowly approached Asendorf, gun pointed at him just in case he was trying to fool her. His chest wasn't moving as she kicked his gun away from him.

"He's dead."

"_Are you sure?_"

Alex fired once more, point blank to the center of his chest. "Pretty darn."

"_Well, you'd better get out of there_. _People heard your shots and have called the cops_. _The police scanner is going nuts_."

Alex retrieved her bag and left the manila envelope on the covered stack of drywall. "Where are they coming from?"

Sloan grunted. "_Does it matter? Get down here, I've got the manhole cover up_."

Alex opened the window to the fire escape and closed it behind her. "The sewers again. Fun."

"_It's better than jail_."

"That's true." Alex rode the ladder down to the street and Sloan took her bag. "You're right. Having you here is useful."

"Less talking, more running."

Alex smirked and climbed down the ladder into the underground highway. Sloan threw her bag down to her and followed, closing the manhole cover behind him.

* * *

**A/N: One more bad guy down. Leave me a review; I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Chkgun93, phnkgrl, Sir Robery Carey and Quillcox for their reviews. Here's the next chapter. Beckett is about to find Asendorf's crime scene. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 22

Beckett pulled up to the crime scene in SoHo just before 11pm. Castle got out of the car and fell into step with her as they crossed the street and approached the building. Flashing lights illuminated the street and a crowd had grouped around the police line, trying to figure out what was going on. A few people in the crowd had their phones out, taking pictures or video of the police activity.

Detective Smith met them on the sidewalk. "Thanks for coming. We haven't touched the envelope, but the bomb squad assured us there isn't anything explosive in it."

"Where is it?"

"Fourth floor. This way." He led them up to the fourth floor. "The envelope was left over here."

Lanie looked up from the body. "Hey Kate."

"Hey Lanie. How's it going?"

"My date night was interrupted; we were just heading to the movie when the call came in. Three weeks of planning down the drain and now my husband is waiting for me in the car down the street."

Beckett grimaced with sympathy. "Sorry to hear that. What do you got?"

"Multiple gunshot wounds, no I.D. I'm guessing he was the owner of that sniper rifle." She gestured to a handgun across the floor. "The gun over there might be the murder weapon. You here for the envelope?"

"Yep." Beckett picked up the envelope with gloved hands and opened it to find a few printed pages. "Son-of-a…Alex."

Smith came over. "What?"

Castle pulled out his phone and started texting. "I'll let Ryan and Esposito know."

Beckett nodded and turned to Smith. "I've seen this man before." She held up a photo of Demon. "He broke into my home three nights ago to kill me, but Alex Stevens, a.k.a. the Shadow Fox, killed him. These documents prove that your victim, Clint Asendorf, hired 'Demon' to kill me."

Castle looked at the man on the floor. "Alex is involved in this man's death."

Smith put his hands on his hips. "I thought the Shadow Fox used a knife, not a gun."

"Clearly she changed tactics for this one." Beckett looked from the file to the dead body. "She's left me a folder before too. Asendorf was the hired gun in that one. I guess she felt she needed to kill him too."

Smith was in the dark. "What are you talking about?"

"A year ago, a fashion designer named Francesco Zoratti was killed by the Shadow Fox. A folder like this was messengered to the precinct proving that Zoratti had hired an assassin known as Eagle Eye, a.k.a Clint Asendorf, to kill me. Now Asendorf is dead. I'm guessing Alex pissed this guy off by killing his employer and he was going to come after her."

"So she kills him to protect herself." Smith gestured to the body. "Why change her M.O.? Why use a gun?"

Castle spoke up. "She must have felt she couldn't kill him any other way. Assassins are only as good as their reputation. His was probably pretty dangerous."

Beckett nodded. "Using a gun meant that she could be farther away to make the kill. Safer for her."

Smith shrugged. "Okay then, I guess this scene is yours, Detective. My people can assist."

"I'd appreciate that, thank you." Beckett took a walk around the crime scene. "Who called it in?"

"Locals heard shots around nine and called it in. Three shots and then one more. Uni's were on the scene within twenty minutes, but no one saw the shooter."

Beckett noticed the door to the room had been kicked in. "Your boys?"

"Door was locked when they got here. The lock doesn't show signs of being tampered with. We don't know how they got in."

Beckett crossed to the alley side fire escape and tried the window. "This window isn't latched. This was their point of entry."

Smith shook his head. "I doubt it. We've checked it out. That ladder is eight feet off the ground."

"All you'd need is a rope with a weight on the end to pull the ladder down. It wouldn't take much effort."

Smith shrugged as Esposito walked in. "Hey boss. Alex struck again?"

"Yep, she's been busy this week. Start talking to the neighbors and get some statements. Have Ryan help you when he gets here. I want to know who saw and heard what."

"You got it."

* * *

The next morning, Beckett found herself staring at the two boards next to her desk. Demon, Slaughter, Asendorf; three bodies dropped in one week. No doubt she would go to ground now. There was no reason to tempt fate at this point. Alex would know not to wander New York right now; too many eyes would be looking for her. Beckett's mind wandered away from the boards as she studied Asendorf's autopsy pictures. _Why did he wait a year to hire someone to kill me?_ Had she done something in that year to anger him somehow? Or was she simply used to draw out Alex?

_Wait. That might be it_. Alex sent me a folder when Zoratti wanted me dead; a folder that fingered Asendorf as the hired gun and explained Alex's motive for killing Zoratti. Maybe he waited this long because he had been trying to figure out who had revealed his identity and his occupation as a killer. When that failed, he put out a hit on her hoping that the same person who killed Zoratti would appear and protect her again. And it worked, which is why Alex had felt the need to take Asendorf out. Most likely, Asendorf wasn't the type to forgive and forget. He would have eventually gone after Alex. Alex had decided to kill him before he had the chance.

Beckett picked up the folder left at the crime scene. She'd only taken a quick look at the contents last night. The first few pages proved Asendorf's link to Demon, but what was in the rest of the folder? Beckett dug deeper into the file and froze. In front of her was a picture of a younger Asendorf in military fatigues. Standing next to him, also in fatigues, was a younger Cole Maddox.

Castle set down her coffee and saw the photo. "Where'd that come from?"

"Alex's folder. Asendorf knew Maddox. Possibly even trained him."

"Talk about a blast from the past."

"The man who managed to almost kill me was trained by the man who was hired to kill me a year ago."

"That's a pretty big coincidence."

She nodded. "Now I understand why Alex thought she needed a gun."

"Speaking of guns, are the ballistics back yet?"

Beckett shook her head. "By now, they've probably test fired them, but until Lanie's done with the autopsy, they won't be able to compare the bullets." A uniform handed her a folder. "Thanks. Oh, this is their report."

"So Lanie's done?"

She shook her head again. "No. But the sniper rifle has been connected to a number of murders across the country. Hunh."

"What?"

"Supposedly, this gun went missing from an evidence storage facility in Seattle six years ago. An accidental suicide case of a sniper there."

"You're thinking it wasn't an accident."

"Probably not." She shrugged. "They'll be informed that the rifle has been located, but it's not our case, so there isn't much we can do about it."

Castle put down his coffee mug. "What about the other gun?"

"It's not what killed him."

"How do they know?"

"It was never fired." She handed him the folder. "At least not last night. It was still fully loaded; full clip plus one in the chamber."

"So it was his gun."

"Fingerprints confirm it." Beckett sat back in her chair and stretched. "Probably pulled it out when he sensed he was in danger."

Castle flipped through the folder until he reached the last page. "Have you seen this yet?"

Beckett leaned toward him. "Seen what?"

He pulled out the last sheet of paper and turned it toward her. A handwritten page, similar to the one that had ended the last folder, was staring at her. "_I'll never hurt a victim of Rathborne_."

Castle put the page back in the folder. "Maybe that's why she protecting you. You are both victims of Rathborne."

Beckett was stunned. "Maybe..."

The boys stepped off the elevator, breaking Beckett out of her revere. "Finally talked to everyone in the area. Someone remembered seeing Alex two days before the murder. She went up the fire escape and through the window. The lady called it in and a car was sent to check it out."

"We talked to the responding officer, an Officer Miller, and he said she disappeared on them." Ryan sat down. "Apparently, she knows how to freerun."

"Freerun? That's like Parkour, right?"

Beckett smiled. "Not exactly the same discipline, but essentially yes. Which means she can see ways to move through the city that we wouldn't think about. It's probably how she managed to escape the night she killed Demon."

Gates had been listening to the conversation. "So now she's more elusive?"

"That's what it sounds like, sir."

Gates sighed. "The sooner we can catch her, the better." She went back into her office.

Castle shook his head. "Does she think we're not trying?"

"Don't be so hard on her, Rick. The brass at 1PP have been giving her a lot of flak for letting Alex slip through our fingers. She's just stressed."

Castle caught the look that crossed Beckett's face. "What?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how Alex became so good at killing people in a very short period of time."

Esposito perched on a corner of Beckett's desk. "I've been wondering the same thing. How did she meet up with Rathborne in the first place? And once she met him, and knew who he was, why did she decide she wanted to follow in the footsteps of the man who killed her biological father?"

Beckett nodded. "If she's as good a fighter as I've seen, why on Earth did she let Bernard Hopkins attack her back in Chicago? Did she get trained after the attack?"

Castle held up his hand. "We know she's committed to the lie. Maybe she let herself get attacked to keep her cover intact."

"Maybe…" Beckett trailed off, lost in thought. "Do we know what Michael Stevens looked like?"

Ryan turned to his computer. "I'll see if I can find a driver's license."

Castle turned to Beckett. "What are you thinking?"

"If Alex met Rathborne after Stevens' death, she would only have had a few years at most to train with him. The thing is, assassins usually have multiple aliases. Like Lockwood."

Esposito nodded. "We still don't know what his real name was."

"Who's to say Michael Stevens wasn't one of Coonan's aliases?"

Ryan printed out a picture. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but this doesn't look like Coonan."

He handed her the photo. Starring back at her was a heavily bearded man. His hair was jet black and his complexion was dark from either a dark tan or deep olive skin. The creases around his eyes also made it appear that he was older than Coonan would have been around that time.

Beckett was disappointed. "I thought…" _Wait, the eyes look familiar_. "Print out another one of these and a photo of Coonan."

Ryan hesitated and glanced at his partner. "Beckett, I don't think…"

"Just do it."

"Kate, what are you doing?"

Beckett pulled a pair of scissors out of her desk drawer. "I'm playing a hunch. Alex changes her look sometimes."

"You're thinking Coonan might have changed his."

Beckett was cutting the beard and hair out of the picture Ryan had handed her, "Exactly." Ryan brought over the two photos. "Hang them up on the board next to each other."

Ryan shrugged and did what he was told. Beckett finished cutting out the beard and hair as the team gathered around the board. Beckett stood and put the beard and hair on the picture of Coonan. Instantly, Coonan looked like Stevens.

"Well, I'll be damned." Esposito took a step back. "No wonder Alex is as good as he was. She was raised by the son-of-a-bitch."

Beckett sat back down. "She never had a chance. He probably started training her the day the adoption papers cleared."

"Coonan probably got a kick out of that. The girl he adopted is the daughter of one of his marks." Castle sat back in his chair. "Just think, Kate. If you and Alex had been in the other's shoes, it could be Alex sitting in your chair and you we were chasing."

Beckett shuddered at the thought. "Glad it isn't."

Esposito took his perch again. "So Alex was trained by the time she was attacked by Hopkins in Chicago. I don't care how committed you are to the lie, I don't see her just taking that."

"Are you certain that Hopkins was the one who gave her that scar?"

"Castle?"

"Think about it. Rathborne kills her father, and then adopts her to ensure she would become his apprentice. What if she found out?" He lowered his voice. "I mean, you know how it feels to find out the truth, Kate."

Beckett nodded. "I wanted to kill Bracken."

"I'd imagine she felt the same, plus she is an assassin. Revenge is almost like their bread and butter. Why wouldn't she go after him?"

"You're saying Hopkins was just a patsy."

Castle nodded. "She probably killed him just before she went after Coonan. Do we have Hopkins' suicide report?"

Ryan went to his desk. "I'll see if I can get it."

Castle continued with his scenario. "She attacks Coonan and is slashed from her wrist to her elbow, but for some reason, he lets her live. She ends up at the hospital and the cops are asking her questions. What can she do? Tell the truth and get arrested for all the murders she's committed? No. She uses the cover-up she orchestrated. She tells them she's an investigator for Hardy and Drew who was attacked by one of the people she was investigating."

"But why'd she pick Hopkins?" Esposito was now standing. "Was it random?"

Beckett shook her head. "No, we know that during her investigations, Alex got to know the people involved. He was probably a loner and fit a profile she'd known would attack her and later commit suicide."

"Alex told us he attacked her in a drunken rage. So we know Hopkins was a mean drunk who probably lived alone and didn't have many friends. He was also involved in the scam she was investigating, so the cops would assume he might have been driven to attack her when the pressure got to be too much."

"Got it." Ryan shouted over to them and they joined him at his computer. "He committed suicide in late January. All the windows were left open, presumably to make sure there wasn't a smell if he wasn't found right away, so the M.E. had a hard time estimating the T.O.D. The note said he was sorry for what he'd done and couldn't live with himself any longer. M.E. lists cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the temple. Gun was found in his hand and there was blood on both the gun slide and his hand. It was fairly cut and dry."

Castle straightened up. "She left the windows open on purpose to mess with the T.O.D. If she hadn't, the detectives investigating her attack would have realized that she was attacked after he'd died."

"And her cover-up wouldn't have worked." Beckett turned to the board. "She's smart, I'll give her that."

Esposito straightened up too. "So she does use guns when it suits her purpose."

Ryan sat back in his chair. "She just keeps getting more and more dangerous."

Beckett nodded. "And we're still no closer to catching her than we were before."

* * *

**A/N: What do you think of Alex's back story? Leave me a review to let me know!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Chkgun93, Quillcox, and phnxgrl for their reviews. From the beginning, I knew Alex had been raised by Rathborne and this was actually the first place where that backstory fit. Here's the next chapter; this will wrap up this case. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 23

Alex removed her earbuds. "Beckett figured out my past."

Sloan didn't stop typing. "So?"

"She's smart."

"You already knew that."

"Yeah, but she just keeps proving it." Alex stood up and stretched. "She figured it out because she was trying to figure out when I met Rathborne and why I would willingly become his apprentice. That's what made her realize that maybe Michael Stevens was Rathborne."

"Does that matter?"

"Not really. Actually, it might make her more sympathetic to my situation. Now she knows I didn't really have a choice."

Sloan cleared his throat. "So, are you ready to take another job?"

Alex sighed. "What do you have?"

"This one might be challenging. The mark is Marcus Auditore. To everyone else, he's a philanthropist with an unknown source of income. In reality, he's a pimp."

"Girls or jobs?"

"Jobs. He finds jobs for some of the old school assassins. Bad news for him is most of those assassins are retiring. Pretty soon, these pimps will be outdated."

"Why is he being targeted?"

Sloan shrugged. "Revenge of some sort? The client won't say. But, they are willing to pay 200 grand."

"So what makes it challenging?"

"The best time to get to him will be at the New York Library Gala next month."

"Still not seeing the challenge."

"You won't be able to get your knife inside. Security has gotten pretty tight; metal detectors at every door, not to mention highly-trained security guards will be there that night. And guess who's on the guest list."

"Castle and Kate."

Sloan nodded. "Exactly."

"Okay, that is a bit challenging." Alex smiled. "Well, it'll be fun to do this right under Kate's nose."

"So you'll take it?"

She shrugged. "Why not? I like the challenge, and I'll be getting rid of one more bad-guy in the world."

* * *

Lanie looked up as Beckett and Castle came into the morgue. "This guy's body has been through a lot over the years. Cause of death was a point blank shot to the chest. The three other shots were from a distance of about ten to fifteen feet."

"So she shot him till he was down and then got close enough to deliver one final shot."

"That shot was actually unnecessary. The three shots combined would have been enough to kill him."

Castle shrugged. "She wanted to make sure he was dead."

Beckett walked around the table. "She got really close without him noticing."

"That's just it. The angles don't make any sense."

"What do you mean?"

Lanie picked up a couple bright yellow rods. "These will help show the trajectory." She slowly inserted the rods into the bullet holes. "See how steep the angles are? The one in the back of his shoulder is just like it, only a little steeper."

"That's weird." Castle followed the rods with his eyes. "She was either above him, or he was on his hands and knees when she shot him."

"He's six foot. From the angles I'm getting, if he was standing, she was shooting him from over 8ft off the floor."

Beckett looked at Castle. "We're going to have to go back to the crime scene." She turned back to Lanie. "Can you tell which shot came first?"

Lanie pointed to each wound as she spoke. "From what I can tell, the shoulder came first, followed by the abdomen and then the first of the chest shots."

Castle finally stopped tracing trajectory angles with his eyes. "Why is the shoulder steeper than the others?"

"I have no idea. When you're done with your reconstruction, could you let me know?"

"Sure Lanie. Thanks."

* * *

"Why are we back here?"

"Because your wife's autopsy report brought up some questions as to where Alex was when she shot Asendorf."

Esposito shifted the dummy he was carrying. "Does it really matter where she was shooting him from? He's a bad-guy. She stopped a sniper attack."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "We might have missed some evidence the first time around. So, yes, it matters."

They arrived on the fourth floor and Beckett cut the seal on the door. The group entered and looked around; as far as they could tell, nothing had been disturbed. Esposito dumped the dummy on the floor and made his way over to the window Asendorf's gun had been set up at. Ryan set down the case he'd been carrying as Esposito imitated holding a sniper rifle.

"He was kneeling about here. My guess is his target was going to be at that nightclub."

"Let's get the dummy into position."

They set up the dummy where Asendorf would have been kneeling and Ryan set up a laser so they could see where the first shot had come from. Beckett walked over to a stack of drywall directly under the laser's trajectory and looked up. Above her, there were thick beams going straight across the ceiling. The space between each beam was plenty wide enough for someone to slip through and the space above the beams was large, allowing for air-conditioning and electrical conduits to fit. More than enough space for Alex to lay across a few beams and remain unseen.

"She was up in the rafters. Probably wore all black so she wouldn't be seen in the limited light."

"Esposito is Asendorf." Esposito followed Castle's instructions and got into a shooter's position. "Alex shoots you in the shoulder, what do you do?"

"I drop the rifle, stand up, turn around and pull out my handgun."

"She shoots again and hits you in the stomach."

Ryan repositioned the dummy and set up another laser, which also lined up with the rafters. "He probably dropped to his knees."

Esposito dropped to his knees. "Probably dropped the gun too."

"She shoots again and hits you in the chest."

Ryan repositioned the dummy again and set up a third laser. The laser was still up in the rafters where Alex would have been.

Esposito stood up. "Asendorf falls backward and comes to rest where we found him."

Beckett nodded and walked toward the bloodstain on the floor. "That's when she emerges from her hiding place, kicks his gun away from him and delivers the fatal shot point blank." Beckett gestured as if she was shooting Asendorf.

Ryan gestured to the window. "And then she leaves the way she came in. How'd she get out of the area? I looked through all the footage from the area. There was only one camera around here, pointed right at the mouth of the alley. You could see Alex go into the alley, Asendorf goes in a while later, and then another man goes in, but she never came back out. Neither did the second man."

Beckett opened the window and stepped out onto the fire escape. "There's a manhole cover down there. She probably escaped through the sewers again. The second man could have been Brebnor. He probably got the manhole cover up while she made her way down to the ground level."

Ryan climbed up onto the stack of drywall and poked his head into the rafters. "Hunh, this is weird." He put on a glove and brought a soft hand broom out of the rafters. "It looks like she left this behind."

"Probably used it to erase her footprints." Beckett came back inside. "She was here before Asendorf."

Castle nodded. "Lures him to this location somehow and then, bam, blows him away."

Ryan hopped down and bagged the broom. "She's protecting you. Zoratti, Demon, Asendorf; they were all gunning for you."

"Yeah, but why? We're trying to arrest her; I've put a hole in her. Why would she be protecting me? I doubt it's simply because I'm a victim of her mentor."

"When we arrest her, we can ask her." Esposito shouldered the dummy and Ryan packed up the lasers. "Well, this was a waste of time."

Ryan picked up the case. "Not a complete waste."

"Oh, right. 'Look ma, I went back to the crime scene and all I got was this lousy broom'."

Beckett smiled at their bickering as she sealed up the crime scene again. The two were like an old married couple; despite their bickering, if either of them ever got into trouble, the other would always be right there by their side to help them out.

* * *

Back at the precinct, Beckett found a new ballistics report on her desk. "The bullets that killed Asendorf came from a Glock 17 that was registered to a Bertolt Smith. He's a cop from Chicago."

Ryan ran the name. "Bertolt Smith died in '07. Mugging while he was off duty."

"Does it say anything about a missing police issued firearm?"

"Yeah, he was carrying it when he was killed."

Castle set down a coffee in front of Beckett. "So how did Alex get ahold of it?"

"Pull up the autopsy report."

Ryan pulled up the report and gasped. "Killer stabbed him in the right kidney as well as three other locations. He wasn't mugged."

"Alex targeted him just like she targeted Slaughter." She took a sip of her coffee. "See if there were any incident reports involving Smith and an unknown assailant prior to his death."

"Nope, nada."

Castle put down his coffee. "You think he might have shot her at some point?"

"I don't think she targets cops without a reason. One of those times she was in the hospital, I noticed a scar on her right arm near her shoulder. At the time, she said it was an old college days injury, but now I'm thinking it's like the one on my left arm."

"She was grazed by a bullet." Esposito finished writing up the notes from their return visit to the crime scene. "That's a minor injury. She wouldn't have even needed to take time off of work."

Castle raised his hand. "You know, I've been trying to work out the timing of the events in Chicago surrounding Slaughter and Alex. We know she was never identified when she attacked Slaughter, but how did Slaughter shoot Alex without Hardy and Drew finding out about it?"

"Hold on." Ryan typed for a couple minutes and pulled up the report for Alex's attack. "She was attacked a week before Slaughter's officer involved shooting."

"So she was already on disability with Hardy and Drew when she got shot." Castle nodded as it came together. "After that, all she had to do was pretend her right arm was still bugging her to stay on disability until the gunshot wound healed."

Beckett set down her coffee as Ryan picked up his ringing phone. "And we know that she was sent to Holmes and Watson Investigations after that. She probably attacked Slaughter just before she left. Maybe even the night before."

Esposito nodded. "That would explain why she waited so long before she killed him again. She didn't know he'd survived the first time."

Beckett looked at the clock on her phone. "Let's pick this up tomorrow."

"Afraid not." Ryan hung up his phone. "We just caught another one."

Beckett groaned. "Let's go."

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Alex wandered along the bank of the Hudson River in Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, enjoying the sunset. Asendorf was dead. The weight of the fear she'd been living with for a year was now blissfully lifted. No doubt Beckett and the team were still hunting her. They had probably traced the origin of the gun she'd used on Asendorf by now. Just another part of her history they'd now know about. Sloan wouldn't be pleased that she'd given Beckett that knowledge, but Alex didn't care. Personally, a part of her knew she was unlikely to survive the hunt. She had no interest in going to prison, so it was more likely that they would be forced to use lethal force to bring her down.

Still, it wouldn't do to have the murder weapon in her possession if they did manage to arrest her. Alex glanced around her; the park was virtually empty. She took the gun out of the pocket of her coat and flung it into the Hudson. The likelihood of it being found now was slim to none, and even if they did, they'd be hard pressed to put it in her hand. After all, the folder of proof against Asendorf that she'd left at the crime scene didn't mean she was his killer. Beckett and company would know though. They were smart enough to connect the dots.

Silently, Alex turned away from the river and walked away. Fifty feet away, hidden behind a tree, another woman followed.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and sticking with me! That's it for this case. The next chapter starts the next case. ****Leave a review below...**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: I delayed posting because of the holiday. I'd like to apologize to anyone who was expecting the next chapter. And now, I'd like to thank Quillcox, Chkgun93, and phnxgrl for their reviews. This is the start of the next case, but it is also starting where the last one left off. Basically the two cases run into each other. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 24

Beckett and Castle pulled up to the crime scene as the sun went down. Uniforms had already cordoned off the area around the corner store and were busy taking witness statements. Ryan and Esposito split up to help with the statements while Beckett and Castle headed over to Lanie.

"What do you have?"

"White male, around 5 foot 10, no I.D. I'd say he's probably 27 to 31. From the bag, I'm guessing he was shopping for junk food in the store before he was killed. Took three to the chest before he hit the ground. How'd the reconstruction go?"

"She was hiding in the rafters when she shot Asendorf. What else can you tell me?"

"That would explain the angles." Lanie looked up. "All I know is this wasn't a simple drive by. I overheard one of the witnesses saying there was a second man who was snatched."

"So someone was kidnapped." Beckett stood up. "Autopsy in the morning?"

"Yep."

Ryan and Esposito came up to them. "What'd you guys find out?"

"Not much. Whoever did this knew what they were doing." Ryan consulted his notes. "The perps were driving an unmarked white van, no plates. Three guys got out, one of them shot the vic, the other two grabbed the second guy and they were gone. Took all of about a minute."

Castle was glancing at the crowd. "Does the store have any surveillance?"

Esposito nodded. "Manager is making a copy right now."

"If we're lucky, the murder was caught on tape."

Ryan pulled a face. "We won't be able to see who did it. The guys were wearing masks."

"I'm more interested in what happened before the murder. We know a man was taken, but we don't know what he looked like, let alone who he is. If we're going to find him, we need to know what to look for."

"CIA strike team."

Beckett rolled her eyes and then turned to Castle. "What gives you that idea?"

Esposito shook his head. "Not one of his CIA conspiracies again."

"The CIA tends to work in teams of three. Two to do the grab and one to drive."

Ryan smirked. "You really need to learn how to count. There were four guys. Three jumped out of the van and one was at the wheel."

"Maybe they shook things up."

The manager handed Esposito a disk. "Thanks man. Well, we can check these out. See how leaky Castle's latest conspiracy is."

* * *

Due to spending the night canvassing the area, they didn't get to set up the board until the next morning. Ryan watched the surveillance footage once that was done and everyone watched over his shoulder. On the screen, the victim and a younger man, who resembled the vic, walked into the store. The younger man wore a tailored suit, but he looked completely comfortable in the shabby store. The victim was more wary, glancing around him, constantly on alert.

The relationship between the two was clearly friendly. Even without any sound, you could tell that the two got along well. From the resemblance, Beckett was certain they were related, most likely brothers. They cruised the store, picking out the chips, popcorn and candy they had found in the bag at the scene. The younger man paid, but the vic slipped a $50 into his brother's pocket while he wasn't paying attention.

"That was slick." Castle pointed to the money exchange.

Beckett nodded. "He cares about the younger man."

Esposito nodded. "Whoever the vic is, he has some experience as a pickpocket."

After the purchases had been made, the victim grabbed the bag and the two exited the store. The younger man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the $50, trying to hand it back to the vic. The vic stopped walking, a grin on his face as he shook his head. Eventually the younger man gave up, putting the money back in his pocket as the white van pulled up next to them.

The victim immediately turned around, putting himself in between his brother and the van. Three men jumped out of the van; one was armed with a silenced Glock and he shot the victim as though it was the easiest thing in the world. The younger man jumped backward as his brother crumpled. The gunman turned his weapon on the younger man who threw up his hands, giving the other two men something to grab onto as they forced him into the van. The door slid shut behind the men and the van took off.

Ryan rewound the tape until he had a clear shot of the younger man's face. "This is who we're looking for."

Beckett's phone chimed as a text came in. "Lanie's ready for us. Go through the video again; see if you can find anything that'll give you names."

Beckett and Castle headed down to the morgue. Beckett was tired. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep when Asendorf had been gunned down two nights ago and again last night with their John Doe. And then, when she had managed to get a little sleep, there were her dreams. After Slaughter's death, Beckett had been having the same recurring dream. She was alone in a rundown building. The feeling that she was being chased haunted every step she took. She was running through the building, searching for the exit, but she could feel someone closing in on her. Just when she got to the exit, she was grabbed from behind and woke up. Needless to say, she hadn't been sleeping very well for the past week.

Castle saw her rubbing her eyes. "We need to get you some time off to really rest."

"It's just a dream."

"A dream that Alex is chasing you, right?"

Beckett turned to face Castle. "How do you…"

"You were talking in your sleep last night. Saying her name."

Beckett groaned. "It's just…she's killed two other cops who've shot her. Am I next?"

The elevator arrived at the morgue. "I don't see it. She's been protecting you and she left that note saying she would never hurt a victim of Rathborne. Why would she do that if she wanted to kill you?"

"Maybe she's trying to get me to lower my guard because she wants to kill me."

"Who wants to kill you now?"

Beckett stepped up to the table. "Hopefully, no one. What do you have?"

"Three .9mm slugs, most likely from a Glock. And he's still a John Doe. I've gone through all his pockets and didn't find any I.D. He does have a jaguar tattoo on his back, but that's the only tattoo he has on him."

"Anything else?"

"Bruising on his forearms is a few days old, but there's nothing on his hands, so I'm going to say that these are not defensive wounds. I had another body a few years ago with similar bruising patterns, and he was a martial arts enthusiast. That victim practiced a lot with one of those poles that have all the sticks coming off of them. What are they called?"

Castle snapped his fingers. "I know this one! It's, umm, a Mook Yan Jong. Basically a wooden dummy that can be used to practice different attacks and blocks."

Lanie nodded. "I'm thinking this John Doe used one of those to practice a martial arts discipline, which resulted in these bruises."

Castle was looking at the victim's abs. "He is pretty fit."

Lanie nodded. "He's the example of a healthy man. Index and middle fingers of his right hand were broken at some point a few years ago, but he seems to have healed nicely. Other than that, I can't give you much."

Beckett's brow furrowed. "Fingerprints and DNA didn't give you anything?"

Lanie shook her head and handed Beckett a folder. "Nope. I have no idea who this guy is. Maybe you'll get lucky."

"Thanks Lanie."

They returned to the bullpen and updated the board. Without an I.D., they were unlikely to find out where he lived or what he did. Or who the abducted man was. The boys had left a note on the board letting Beckett know they had returned to the store to see if they could collect the bills the younger man had used to pay for the food.

Twenty minutes later, they returned. "Dropped off the bills with CSU, maybe we'll get lucky with an I.D. for our abductee."

"The victim is still a John Doe." Beckett waved her hand at the board. "Lanie ran his prints and DNA but came up with nothing."

"Maybe the victim was CIA…"

Beckett ignored Castle's musings. "Was there anything in the witness statements that stood out to you?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not really. Just that the guys doing the taking seemed like they knew what they were doing. And like we saw from the tape, they were all wearing the same things. Black pants, shirts, jackets, shoes, ski masks, and gloves."

"Traffic cameras?"

"Still waiting on them to come in."

Beckett stood to go to the break room. "When they get here, follow that van. The abductors might not be as professional as they think."

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Alex knew she was being followed. Viper might be able to blend into the club scene; out on the streets, she was not as adept at staying hidden. True, Alex hadn't known Viper was there at first. That didn't mean she hadn't noticed quickly after that. She was going to have to flip the tables.

Up ahead was a bus stop. Nearby was a subway station. Alex decided to go for the subway. If there was a crowd down there, it wouldn't take much to hide in it and start following Viper. She hurried down the steps and swiped her card to get onto the platform. Unfortunately, the crowd was not large at the moment. Following Viper was out, but letting Viper know she had been spotted was still an option.

The next train arrived and Alex boarded it, moving through the car until she was near the other door. Alex noted with satisfaction that Viper had also boarded the train. _Now for the tricky part_. She waited until the doors were starting to close before she reached out and slipped through, getting back onto the platform. Viper had seen her movements, but reacted too late to get off before the doors closed and the train left the station.

For a moment, as the train slid away, Viper's eyes locked with Alex's through the train window. Though her face was impassive to the point of being cold, Alex saw a faint smile hovering around the corners of Viper's mouth. It was a look that said "you've won this round." And then the train was gone.

Alex made her way to the surface and pulled out her phone. "Viper was tailing me."

Sloan's Scottish voice was refreshing to hear. "_Did you lose her?_"

"The old, 'wait for the train doors to almost close before you get off' trick. If she tries again, she'll be more careful."

"_I wonder why she's following you_. _She's on an active contract_. _I was about to call you about it_."

"Who's the mark?"

Sloan cleared his throat. "_Castle_. _But it's weird_. _To the casual observer, someone posted the contract and she took it_. _Except I did some digging and found out that Viper was the one to post it in the first place_."

"That is weird. Why post a contract if you're going to claim it yourself?"

"_I don't know, but you might want to warn Beckett about it_. _I've taken the liberty of selecting a building that might suit your needs and I've found out what Beckett's number is_. _As an added bonus you'll find a present waiting for you_."

"Text it to me." Alex hung up and Sloan's text arrived within a minute. After programming Kate's number into her phone, she headed to the building. It took an hour to reach using the subway and a bus, but when she arrived, she knew it was exactly the sort of place she could use. Ducking inside, she discovered that the place had been a crematorium undergoing renovations of some sort when it had been abandoned. _This is perfect_.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Whoever the abductors were, they were good. The van had disappeared in a warehousing area that was filled with similar white vans. All they would have needed to do was slap stickers on the sides and change their clothes before driving out again and vanishing for good.

Beckett's phone started to ring. "Beckett."

"_We need to talk_. _28 Riverside Drive in Brooklyn_."

"Alex?"

"_If you bring backup, I'm gone_. _And you need to hear what I have to say_."

"Why can't you just tell me over the phone?" The line went dead. "Hello?" Beckett hung up and thought for a couple moments. The cop in her said to bring backup to arrest Alex, but the girl had said she needed to tell her something. Something Beckett needed to know. _She's been protecting me; I'm going to trust her_. Beckett stood up and grabbed her gun out of her desk. "We just got an anonymous tip. 28 Riverside Drive in Brooklyn. Tipster wants to meet in person."

* * *

**A/N: What's going to happen? Leave me a review with your predictions, or just leave a review. Thanks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnkgirl, Quillcox, and Chkgun93 for their reviews. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 25

They pulled up outside the Weissman Crematorium just after 1pm. Beckett looked through the windshield at the dilapidated building; it was clearly abandoned, though it looked like someone had started remodeling it and been forced to give up. Alex was nowhere in sight, but the door was open, which meant she was most likely inside. Beckett stepped out of the car and made her way to the trunk to pull on her vest. Castle met her there and strapped his "Writer" vest on too.

Beckett handed her fiancé her backup piece. "Here, just in case."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to pack heat."

"This is Alex we're talking about. Last time we were in a place like this, she kicked you in the face. I don't think she's brought us here to hurt us, but I'm not taking any chances."

Esposito and Ryan met them at the trunk, vests on. "How do you want to proceed?"

"Let's go in and see what we're up against. She said she wanted to talk. Let's give her the chance to say her piece."

Ryan glanced at his partner. "We are trying to arrest her too, right?"

"You really think we're going to be able to do that?" Esposito scoffed. "She brought us to her. Technically, she's got the upper hand."

Beckett closed the trunk. "Let's go."

Ryan and Esposito took up positions on each side of the door, but Beckett just walked in. "Alex! I'm here! You said you wanted to talk! Let's talk!"

"Come and find me!" Alex's voice sounded distant and echoed strangely in the cluttered space.

"I don't like this." Castle had come in with the boys and was looking around. "There are a lot of places to hide. She could be anywhere."

Ryan had his gun out. "She brought us here to play hide and seek? I'm with Castle; this doesn't feel right."

Beckett pulled her gun out of her holster. "Come on." The group moved forward, guns out, keeping their heads on a swivel. Construction sheeting hung everywhere, blocking their lines of sight as well as casting strange shadows on everything. More than once something fell or moved, making everyone spin in that direction, but they never saw Alex.

The group kept moving through the building, Beckett in the lead, Ryan at the flank. They cleared the bottom floor and moved up the stairs to the next floor. Just like the first floor, construction sheeting and materials were scattered everywhere. The metal framework for the building was also exposed. _This is a Parkour enthusiast's dream playground_.

Something fell on their right. Beckett glanced briefly in the direction of the sound before turning in the opposite direction to cover their backs while the boys turned to search for the source of the sound. Suddenly Ryan cried out and collapsed. Before anyone could get a clear look at what happened, Alex had disappeared among the construction equipment.

Esposito and Castle carefully scanned the area while Beckett checked Ryan. "He's alive, but he's out cold. Castle, here." She handed him the keys to the car. "Go down to the car and call for backup. And a bus."

"What about you?"

Esposito nodded. "I got her back."

Castle finally nodded, looking concerned. "Be careful."

Castle headed down the stairs and Beckett stood up. Esposito glanced down at his partner and then jerked his head to ask if they should move on. Beckett didn't want to leave Ryan unprotected any more than Esposito did, but they had to keep going. She nodded and the pair continued to move forward.

Their pace was slower now, more cautious. Every little movement or sound made them look around. Beckett had to admit that she was a little spooked. Alex had managed to pop out of nowhere, knock Ryan out, and disappear again without them managing to catch more than a glimpse of her. _And this would be a perfect place to do that again_. They had reached a section that had quite a few tarps hanging down. Beckett and Esposito slowly started moving through the maze, careful to remain within view of the other.

"What the…" Esposito turned to see Alex running at him. Before he could get his gun up, she slammed into him. He felt a sharp pain in his neck before the back of his head hit a steel beam.

Beckett turned around at Esposito's exclamation and saw Alex shove him into a steel support before vaulting over a low stack of beams and disappearing behind some sheeting. Beckett pursued, but in those few seconds, Alex had somehow managed to hide. Beckett spun in a circle, searching for a shadow or something that would indicate which direction Alex had gone. _Nothing!_ She returned to Esposito. He was also alive but out cold. _How is she doing this?_

Beckett stood up and followed the route she thought Alex might have taken. The further she went, the darker it got. Beckett pulled her flashlight out of her pocket and clicked it on. The shadows shifted in the beam of the light, taking on an almost dreamlike quality. _Just like my nightmares_. She continued walking, constantly turning to try and cover all of her blind-spots. Up ahead, a double doorway stood partially open, light spilling in the larger main room. Slowly Beckett approached it, ears straining to hear the slightest sound.

Beckett pocketed her flashlight a few feet from the doorway and cautiously entered, clearing it from right to left as she went through the doorway. She was about to clear behind the door when it closed with a bang. Beckett pointed her gun at Alex, but before she could make a sound, she'd been disarmed and pushed backward. A kick to her stomach made Beckett stumble backward a little farther. Beckett straightened up and saw Alex kick her gun to the far side of the room. She glanced at the door and saw that it was closed with a bar through the handles, making sure no one would be able to enter now. _I'm on my own_.

* * *

**One hour earlier…**

Sloan had left a gym bag just inside the door. In it were three small sedative darts, a vest, and her knife. Alex put the vest on under her shirt and the sedative darts in her coat pocket. She picked up her knife and held it before putting it back in the bag. _I won't be needing this_. Zipping the bag back up, Alex grabbed the handles and took it with her as she went to explore the building.

Upstairs, Alex found a mecca of a Parkour playground. She wandered through the maze, planning ways to attack and disappear. Up ahead a set of double doors stood open, letting light filter into the larger room. This doorway led to a large room that was surprisingly clear of debris and supplies.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the number Sloan had given her. "_Beckett_."

"We need to talk. 28 Riverside Drive in Brooklyn."

"_Alex?_"

_Keep it cryptic_. "If you bring backup, I'm gone. And you need to hear what I have to say."

"_Why can't you just tell me over the phone?_" Alex hung up. Kate would come. After the number of times she'd saved Kate's life, she would trust Alex enough to come. Not enough to come unarmed and without a vest or the boys, but she would come.

In the meantime, some preparations needed to be made. Alex left her bag by a window in the large room and returned to the main warehouse-like area to plan a route. If something was in the way, she moved it. She grabbed a pipe from a pile and left it in the big room, closing one of the double doors. With her preparations made, Alex made her way to a window to keep an eye on the street.

Just after 1pm, two cars pulled up. Kate and Castle got out of the Charger and went straight to the trunk while Esposito and Ryan got out of the SUV and did the same. Vests were strapped on and guns were checked. Kate and Castle had a quick conversation before Ryan and Esposito joined them. Alex couldn't hear what they were saying, but it had to be a tactical discussion. Kate closed the trunk and the group made their way toward the building.

Alex moved away from the grimy window as Kate walked in. "Alex! I'm here! You said you wanted to talk! Let's talk!"

Alex smiled; _time to have a little fun_. "Come and find me!"

As the group moved around downstairs, Alex moved around upstairs, occasionally knocking things over as she watched the group's progress. Every time something fell, the group would spin toward the sound of the echo. Eventually, they were finished clearing the ground floor and made their way up the stairs to the second floor. Alex took one of the darts out of her pocket, removed the cap, the waited.

The group came up the stairs slowly. Kate was in the lead, followed by Castle, then Esposito, and Ryan in the back. The way they were walking, watching each other's back, Alex realized she needed a misdirect to avoid being seen until it was too late. Alex transferred the dart to her left hand and picked up a small chunk of drywall off the floor. Across the way was a table with several tools. She waited until the group had walked past to lob the drywall at the table, knocking a box of nails off the surface.

As she had predicted, the group turned to the noise, though Kate's head was turning toward Alex. Alex sprinted from her hiding spot, hitting Ryan in the collarbone area. The dart pierced his skin, delivering the sedative that would take effect in a few moments. He collapsed from the blow and Alex kept moving, vaulting over a stack of drywall and rolling behind a section of sheeting. She silently crept sideways until she could see the group without them seeing her. Esposito and Castle were looking around, guns out. Alex was surprised; Castle never carried a gun. Kate must have given him her backup while they were putting on their vests.

Kate was checking Ryan's pulse. "He's alive, but he's out cold. Castle, here." She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out her keys, handing them to Castle. "Go down to the car and call for backup. And a bus."

Castle took the keys tentatively. "What about you?"

Esposito nodded his head in Kate's direction. "I got her back."

Castle glanced between the two before nodding. "Be careful."

Alex watched as Castle walked away and Kate stood up. With Castle outside at the car, she no longer needed the three darts. She stayed put for a few moments until Esposito and Kate left Ryan and moved deeper into the warehouse. She noted that they were more cautious than before, and more careful to watch the other's back. Alex smiled as she emerged from her hiding spot and followed, sticking to the shadows. They were going the direction she wanted them to. _Good_.

As Kate and Esposito moved deeper into the crematorium, Alex made sure to knock things over or move the sheeting with bits of debris to keep the pair on their toes. The more rattled they were, the more likely they'd be taken by surprise. Up ahead, the construction sheeting created a maze that was perfect for an ambush. Alex got into position and waited for Kate and Esposito to pass by.

Finally, they came into view, guns pointed down and eyes darting. Alex readied the second dart and waited, adrenaline flowing through her veins. Kate was still in front as she passed Alex's hiding place. Esposito was a few feet behind, keeping Kate in view. _This is it_. Alex rushed from her spot, dart in hand.

Esposito turned at the sound of the sheeting moving and spotted her. "What the…"

Alex slammed into him before he could get his gun up, stabbing his neck with the dart and pushing him into a steel support structure. He hit the beam hard and collapsed as Alex took off, vaulting over a low stack of beams and taking refuge in the construction sheeting. She heard Kate in pursuit and slide under a table to disappear behind a partially constructed wall. This time, she didn't have the luxury of seeing what Kate would do. When she was sure Kate had lost sight of her, she headed for the large room. Once there, Alex shed her coat and shoved it into her bag. She didn't want anything to get in the way if things with Kate turned into a fight.

After what seemed like an hour, Alex finally heard the sound of Kate's heels slowly approaching. She got behind the open door and waited. Ever so slowly, those heels got closer and closer. Kate was being careful, afraid that she was going to be attacked next. Through the crack between the door and wall, she saw Kate begin to clear the doorway. _3, 2, 1_…

Alex saw Kate's gun begin to come her way and reacted, kicking the door closed. The sound of the door banging closed made Kate snap her gun in Alex's direction. Alex disarmed the detective, bringing her right hand down on top of the gun and her left hand up under Kate's guard; the force of the blow tweaked Kate's wrists and knocked the gun out of her hands. Alex followed the move by shoving Kate backward enough to clear a space between them. A kick to the stomach sent Kate stumbling father backward.

Instead of following, Alex grabbed the pipe she'd picked up earlier and shoved it through the doors' handles, effectively locking it in place. Then she kicked Kate's gun to the other side of the room so it couldn't be used. Kate straightened up and got into a fighting stance. Alex shook her head. _Okay, let's dance_.

* * *

**A/N: Uh-oh. What's going to happen next? Leave me a review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl and Quillcox for their reviews. Sorry for not being nice. No, wait...actually, I'm not. :) We're starting up right where we left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 26

If Beckett were honest with herself, she was scared. Her dreams now seemed like premonitions; she was alone and Alex was facing her, ready to fight. The last time she'd been in a position like this, she'd been left dangling from a rooftop. That didn't mean she was going to lie down and die. No, she was going to fight her way out, or die trying to survive.

Alex was slowly walking toward her, arms raised to defend herself. "I didn't bring you here to kill you."

"Isn't that why you attacked Ryan and Esposito?"

"They'll be fine. I used a mild sedative to knock them out. It acts quickly, but only lasts a few minutes."

Beckett shook her head. "That doesn't answer my question. Why did you attack them?"

"Because I didn't want to take on all three of you simultaneously."

"You're not counting Castle?" Beckett threw a few punches at Alex.

Alex dodged and blocked them easily. "You and I both know Castle isn't much of a fighter. I heard he only managed to take down Lockwood because Lockwood was too busy trying to kill you."

The mention of Lockwood's name reminded Beckett of that night when Castle had first kissed her. Beckett threw a few punches and kicks Alex's way, though the younger woman managed to avoid or block most of them. Beckett was furious that Alex would dare say Castle was weak. True, he hadn't been trained to fight by the Police Academy, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. Castle had done what he needed to in order to stop a dangerous man and to protect her. He had done what she did every day she put on her badge and gun; he had put his life on the line to protect and serve. If Castle hadn't acted when he had, she would no doubt be dead.

"You don't know Castle the way I do. He may not be in your 'league', but he is a fighter."

Alex deflected Beckett's punches and blocked a kick, knocking the detective off balance. "Will you stop fighting me so we can talk?"

Beckett answered by punching with her right. Alex dodged it, so Beckett followed her right with a quick left. Alex dodged to her own right, grabbed Beckett's wrist and stepped behind the detective while kneeing the back of Beckett's left leg. Beckett was forced to her knees; Alex was still holding onto the detective's left wrist, her other hand firmly planted on Beckett's left shoulder, making it impossible to stand up again. Beckett grunted with the discomfort.

Alex sighed. "Detective, you should know by now that your hand to hand combat skills are woefully inadequate compared to an assassin's."

Beckett tried to throw Alex off balance, but Alex pulled her arm farther back. "Ah! What do you want?"

"I just wanted to warn you. Castle's life is in danger, but I don't think it's something you can't handle on your own."

Beckett's shoulder was beginning to really hurt. "What do you mean?"

"The assassin's name is Viper. Her weapon of choice is poison. Lucky for you, she likes to seduce her target before slipping him the poison. So, as long as you stay close to your man, he'll be in no real danger."

"Why couldn't you just say this over the phone?"

"I'm not the only person who knows how to bug your phones. Listen, we don't have much time. There's a body down in your morgue. A John Doe with a jaguar tattoo. He's also an assassin. Jaguar is Viper's son. I was the one who broke his fingers, but he was trying to kill me when I broke them."

There was some pounding on the door before Ryan's voice was heard. "Beckett! You in there? Backup is on their way!"

Alex turned her attention back to Beckett. "I guess that's my cue to leave. Are you going to try and follow me?"

Beckett shook her head, the pain in her shoulder building. "No."

"You're still going to need an excuse for why you weren't able to apprehend me."

"I'll think of…" The rest of her sentence ended in a scream as Alex hit the back of her shoulder, dislocating it. Beckett collapsed onto her right side.

"You'll be fine. Have the paramedics pop it back into place. You'll be riding a desk for a couple weeks, but you shouldn't need surgery."

Beckett moaned in pain as she lay on the floor clutching her left shoulder. Alex calmly picked up her bag and hopped out a window. Just after she disappeared, a small door on the side of the room opened. Ryan and Esposito spilled into the room followed by Castle, who bee-lined to her side.

Castle's face was frantic. "What'd she do?"

Beckett hissed through clenched teeth. "She dislocated my shoulder."

"Here, let me see." Castle moved so Esposito could examine her shoulder. Beckett hissed in a breath as his fingers gently moved over her shoulder, his emergency medical training from the military guiding them. "It doesn't feel like anything tore. Hold on." He suddenly grabbed her arm. She almost screamed again as her shoulder popped back into place. "There. We should immobilize it for now though. Castle, give me your belt."

Castle quickly complied and Esposito used it to belt Beckett's arm to her side. Sirens grew louder as Castle helped Beckett to her feet. She leaned heavily into him, letting him support most of her weight as they made their way to the stairs. At the stairs, he swept her into his arms and carried Beckett the rest of the way out.

The paramedics and SWAT were just arriving as the group exited the building. EMT's jumped out of the ambulance and wheeled a gurney over to Castle. Castle gently set Beckett down and wiped some hair out of the sheen of sweat on her face. Beckett closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The pain had started to go down a bit now that her shoulder had been popped back into place, but it still hurt.

Gates had also arrived. "What happened?"

Esposito turned to the Captain as SWAT entered the crematorium. "Alex called and said she wanted to talk. Instead, she ambushed us. Got Beckett alone and tried to kill her."

"That's not true. She did talk to me. And she was unarmed."

Gates turned to Beckett. "What did she say?"

Beckett took another deep breath and opened her eyes. "She delivered another warning. Castle's life is in danger, although the threat isn't as immediate as it was with Demon."

Castle was taken aback. "Why would anyone want to kill me?"

"She didn't say. Ryan started banging on the door and announced that backup was on its way." Beckett sucked in a breath as one of the paramedics started examining her shoulder. "She dislocated my shoulder to make sure I wouldn't follow her when she left. She was never trying to kill me."

Esposito was visibly angry. "Then why'd she bring us here? Why'd she attack us? Why'd she have to get you alone?"

"She didn't want to risk facing three armed cops at the same time. And she couldn't talk over the phone; I think she thinks the person who wants Castle dead might be using a bug or a wiretap."

Gates nodded as the paramedics wheeled Beckett away. "We are going to talk about this later."

Castle climbed into the ambulance and sat next to Beckett. "I shouldn't have left you."

She shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. If you hadn't done what I told you to, the bus wouldn't have been here and backup wouldn't have the chance to get her."

"But you're hurt."

"She probably would have knocked you out too. Castle this," she gestured to her shoulder, "is not your fault."

He lowered his voice. "What didn't you want Gates to know?"

"She started talking about our John Doe down in the morgue. She knew him; he's an assassin, and apparently he's related to the woman who's trying to kill you. Alex was the one who broke his fingers. Apparently he tried to kill her at some point."

"And who's trying to kill me?"

"An assassin named Viper." Beckett grimaced as she shifted. "Alex didn't say why Viper was hired, but as long as you don't fall for the seduction techniques of another woman, you should be fine."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not a playboy anymore."

Beckett nodded. "I just wish Alex had been able to tell me more before she ran."

* * *

Eluding Kate's backup had been easy. Once clear of the area, Alex dusted off her clothes as best she could and headed to the nearest safe house. This one was tiny compared to a couple of the other ones she had, but it was also the one she'd had the longest. It was probably time to get rid of it. She pulled the dust covers off the furniture and set about cleaning the place. If she was going to put it on the market, it needed to be presentable. Alex smiled as she worked. For some strange reason, she liked to be in deep cleaning mode. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it had nothing to do with death and violence. Her life had been full of that for so long; it was nice to have a change of pace.

She was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. "What's up Link?"

"_I was beginning to worry_. _You went to talk to Beckett, but never came back_. _I thought you might have been arrested_."

"No, not arrested. Just getting ready to put the Battery Park place up for sale. Rents getting a little high and I've had it so long, it's going to become a liability soon. Besides, if Viper continues to follow me, I'd rather she find the place we haven't lived in for over a year."

Sloan actually laughed. "_Okay_. _Well, enjoy your cleaning_. _I'll keep an eye on our favorite detectives_. _Maybe I'll come by tonight; cook you dinner_."

Alex frowned. "Actually, don't. I don't want you to be here if she does show. Just in case."

Sloan sounded hurt. "_Okay, if that's what you want_."

"Link, I'm just trying to keep you safe. If she's going after Castle because she's working for someone, I don't want that someone to know about you."

"_What makes you think she's working for someone? She put his name up herself_."

"That's why. You never put up a name if you're going to take it yourself. You just go after them. Something strange is going on."

"_What do you think is going on?_"

"I don't know." Alex cleared her throat. "She'll come after me for warning Kate and Castle. I'll find out then."

* * *

Beckett was frustrated. Her shoulder had been x-rayed and CAT scanned. The doctors had assured her that, like Alex had said, she wouldn't need surgery, but for some reason she was still stuck in the hospital. She'd been given a prescription for some pain meds and a referral for physical therapy, her shoulder had been bandaged and her arm was in a sling. As far as she was concerned, it was time to go.

Castle was sitting in a chair next to her bed. "You'll get out soon. They're just busy today."

Beckett was sitting cross-legged on the bed. "They would have more room if they let me out of here."

Castle laughed and took her right hand. "Patience."

Beckett sighed. "That's never been my best quality."

"That's not true. You've been plenty patient with me. You're just not patient in the hospital."

"There's just something about them. I hate being here as a patient. I can interview victims and suspects in the hospital all day, but when I'm the one in the bed, I'm just itching to leave."

"I hear you." Castle's phone chirped with an incoming text. "Oh, I texted Ryan and Esposito the information about 'jaguar tattoo.' They've been checking with Chicago P.D. about assaults involving broken fingers…No, they got nothing. I guess he didn't file a report."

"I doubt he would. He's an assassin. Operating off the grid is better for them."

"I was hoping it might get us an I.D."

"It was a good idea." Beckett squeezed his hand reassuringly. "It's just too bad it didn't pan out."

Castle's phone chirped again. "That's them again. Fingerprints on the money gave us a hit. The kidnapping victim is Nicholas Everet. He's in IAFIS for a shoplifting offense when he was 16."

"At least we have a lead now."

"Ryan and Esposito are headed to his apartment. They'll text us with more when they've got something."

A nurse walked in. "Sorry about the wait, Detective. We've been a little backed up today. Your release papers went through, so you're free to go."

Beckett carefully got off the bed. "Thanks."

* * *

**A/N: IAFIS is the ****I****ntegrated ****A****utomated ****F****ingerprint ****I****dentification ****S****ystem that law enforcement agencies use to solve crimes, prevent crimes, and catch criminals. Basically it's a national fingerprint and criminal history database. The DNA equivalent is known as CODIS, which is the ****Co****mbined ****D****NA ****I****ndex ****S****ystem. So, what'd you think? Leave a review!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox, Chkgun93, and phnxgrl for their reviews. We're starting in Alex's POV this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 27

Alex finished cleaning the bathroom and put the chemicals away. Cleaning the apartment had been hard work, but it was so worth it. Now the furniture could be packed up and moved out and the place could be put on the market. Alex washed her hands and headed down the hall to the kitchen. Halfway there she froze; her "spider-senses" were going crazy as she heard her front door softly open. _Viper is here_. Silently, Alex crept forward and peeked around the corner.

Viper was looking around the living area. Once she was sure it was empty, she quietly closed the door and moved deeper into the apartment. Alex put a hand on her belt before remembering that her knife was still in her bag, which was under her coat by the door. Viper had just walked past it. Without her knife, Alex would have to find another way to incapacitate Viper.

The older woman crept forward, eyes constantly on the lookout for the first sign of danger. Alex held her breath, trying not to betray her presence. She thought about everything she knew about the other assassin. Viper's methods of seduction were well known, but Alex had no idea if she was good at hand to hand combat or not. The way she carried herself said she at least knew something, so Alex waited as Viper crept closer.

She turned the corner as Viper approached it. "Hello Viper."

Viper recoiled, clearly taken by surprise. "I didn't think you'd still be here."

"And yet, here I am."

Viper straightened up and stepped closer to Alex, turning on the charm. "So, what happens now?"

"You tell me. You came to my home." Alex noticed the Viper was still slowly coming towards her. _She's trying to catch me off guard_. "Why don't you start with why you've been following me?"

As Alex predicted, Viper chose that moment to attack, punching with her right hand. Alex dodged, grabbing Viper's wrist with her left and punching with her right. Viper's head snapped back with the blow just before she elbowed Alex in the face. Alex stepped back, surprised that Viper had managed to land a blow. _So that's how you want to play_.

The older woman went into attack mode, lashing out with quick jabs, which Alex easily blocked. The younger woman feinted with her right arm, making it look like she was trying to smash Viper's nose with her forearm. Viper leaned backwards, giving Alex the opportunity to push the older woman away from her. Viper retaliated by stepping forward and throwing a punch with her left. Alex dodged and grabbed the older woman's wrist again, this time pulling Viper into the hallway and slamming her into the wall near the bathroom door.

Before Alex could do anything, Viper pushed her into the opposite wall and threw another left-handed punch. Alex dodged to her right and trapped Viper's arm, pulling her into a brief arm bar and slamming Viper, face first, into the wall. She followed that up with a knee to Viper's back and threw the older woman across the hallway into the other wall. With a final punch to the head, Viper was knocked out and collapsed to the floor.

Alex shook out her hand. "She's better than I thought."

* * *

Kate and Rick arrived home after picking up her prescription to find Martha tinkering around in the kitchen. Pans were on every burner and something was in the oven. The dining room table was set and she was busy tossing a garden salad in a large bowl.

Rick was stunned. "Mother, what are you doing here?"

"Detective Esposito called and told me what happened, so I decided to make your evening a little less stressful and take care of dinner for you."

Kate smiled. "It smells great."

A timer went off. "Rick, darling, can you grab the bread out of the oven?"

Kate had finally managed to hang up her coat in the closet. "What can I do?"

"You can take a seat and relax, dear. Not because I think you can't do something," Martha spoke over Kate's protest as she started turning off the burners, "I'm just done with all the cooking. We're just going to dish up from the pans and eat."

Rick set the pan of rolls on the counter and pulled out a chair. "Here, I'll get your plate."

Kate sat down, relenting to the mother and son duo. "Thanks Rick."

While Rick was dishing up Kate's plate, Martha came around the table with a pitcher of water and filled everyone's glass. Within minutes, the three were sitting around the table and enjoying the delicious meal Martha had prepared. They laughed with Martha's stories of the goings-on from her school. For a while, Kate forgot all about her shoulder and the frustration of losing Alex again. After dinner, Martha put the leftovers in containers while Rick cleaned the dishes. Kate managed to convince them she could load the dishwasher one handed and they relented.

Martha said her goodbyes once everything was taken care of. "Well kiddos, I'm off. Kate, take care of that arm." She carefully gave Kate a hug and kissed her cheeks theatrically before hugging and kissing her son too. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Martha."

"Goodnight Mother." Rick sighed as the door closed. "That was a pleasant surprise."

Kate nodded. "It was. I thought you'd called her while we were at the hospital."

He shook his head. "Nope; busy signal when I tried, and then after that it went straight to voicemail. Now I know why. Oh, I did call Alexis. She said to get better soon."

Kate yawned. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Coming?"

He nodded. "Lead the way."

* * *

Alex had zip-tied Viper to a chair to wait out her spell of unconsciousness. Finally, the older woman began to stir, slowly shaking her head from side to side to dislodge the cobwebs. Alex stood in the kitchen facing her, knife firmly on her hip, waiting for Viper to lift her head and show she was completely present.

It took a few minutes for Viper to look up. "Welcome back. How's the head?"

Viper was in a foul mood. "I've been better."

"Let's talk. Why'd you attack me?"

"You interfered with my contract; warned the mark. What did you think would happen?"

"I figured you'd come. What I want to know is why you've been following me."

"Clint Asendorf. You hired him to kill me."

Alex laughed. "**I** killed him. I never hired him to go after you."

"But you did hire me to go after Parker Clint, a man who doesn't exist. Wasn't that supposed to draw me out?"

"No, it was to draw out Asendorf." Alex sat down across from Viper. "You were supposed to be in London, far from any danger. I was going to create a profile that looked like you to draw him out."

"Why?"

"He wanted to kill me. I wasn't going to let that happen. You showing up on the grid here kind of screwed up my plans. At least you got paid half the contract in advance." Alex studied Viper for a moment. "Why are you here anyway? Things get too hot across the pond?"

Viper looked away from Alex. "My son needed me."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"He's not dead yet."

"With all due respect, Viper, Jaguar is dead."

Viper's eyes flashed back to Alex's face. "My other son. Nicholas. He was in danger and now, thanks to you, he'll be killed very soon if I don't kill Richard Castle."

Alex stood up. "That's why you put his name on The Listing. You were following instructions. Who has Nicholas?"

"Like you really care."

"Whether I care or not, you're not leaving that chair until you answer all my questions. The longer you take, the closer your son comes to death. So what's it going to be?"

Viper glared at Alex and started to talk. "He's known as 'The Gentleman'. I don't know much more. But he's ruthless. I told Cobra to keep an eye on Nick while I tried to raise enough money to spare his life. I didn't raise it fast enough and now Cobra is dead. Nick may follow shortly."

"Cobra is Jaguar's real name?"

"No, his professional name. He's only known as Jaguar because of that stupid tattoo on his back."

Alex cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you have a tattoo on your back as well?"

"At least mine is my calling card."

"Fair enough. Why does 'The Gentleman' want Castle dead?"

Viper shrugged. "How should I know? All I know is if I kill Richard Castle, Nick goes free. And that's all I care about."

Alex took her seat again. "What if I were to help you rescue Nick?"

Viper laughed. "You think I'm going to trust you? You broke Cobra's fingers, warned my mark, and have me tied to a chair."

Alex smirked. "You should be glad that breaking Cobra's fingers was all I did. If I had known he was trying to kill me and not just date-rape me, I would have put him in a body bag years ago."

Viper pulled at her restraints. "How dare you!"

"Look, I understand that I'm the reason Nick could die. I'm offering to help you rescue him to make up for that. Take it or leave it."

Viper took a few deep breaths and then sighed. "Fine. I'll take it. But what's in it for you?"

Alex shrugged. "I'm an old fashioned sort. There used to be a sense of honor in our line of work. Men like 'The Gentlemen' give us all a bad rap. I want to take men like him out of the game."

Viper grinned for the first time. "Let's go take him out then."

Alex cut the zip-ties binding Viper to the chair. "You're going to have to tell me everything you know about him. Tonight, we plan. Tomorrow, we'll go get your son."

Viper rubbed her wrists and stood. "What do you want to know?"

"I've never heard of him before, so tell me everything."

"He started out as a fixer and enforcer for hire who was connected to at least one mob family. Recently, he's branched out a bit and started his own criminal empire. Unemployed tough guys seek him out for jobs and he turns them into highly trained urban strike teams."

"Does he have military training?"

Viper shrugged. "He's old enough to have served in Vietnam, so it's possible. Or he's hired some ex-military guys who do the training."

"Or both." Alex ran a hand through her hair. "Tell me about him. You said he's a fixer. How does he act?"

"Like a gentleman, hence the name. He dresses in three piece suits and acts like he's from a different time. Very sophisticated. But don't let his façade fool you. Like I said, he's ruthless."

"Where does he hide out?"

"He likes to keep his operation as off the grid as he can, so usually abandoned buildings and warehouses." Viper paced to the window and looked down at the street. "Look, I appreciate the skull session, but we need to go and rescue Nick."

"Do you know where he is right now?"

Viper shook her head. "No."

"Then we talk and plan. That way, we know what we're up against when we make our move. How do you know 'The Gentleman' has Nick?"

"I saw him. Tied to a chair." Viper was seething. "He looked terrified and there was nothing I could do to help him. I don't know where he was."

"What do you remember about the building?" Alex flipped open her laptop.

"What does it matter?"

"It might help us **find** the building."

"Fine." Viper sat on the couch. "I remember a lot of conveyer belts. And crates with glass bottles. I think it might have been a soda factory."

Alex stopped typing. "Got it. There's an abandoned factory in the Bronx. Let me pull up the blueprints."

Viper stood up. "We should go tonight."

Alex shook her head. "We'll stake out the building tomorrow to get an idea of what we're up against. Tomorrow night, I promise, we'll get your son."

"He could be dead by then!"

"How much time is left on your contract?"

"Two days."

Alex stood as the blueprints printed. "Then we still have time."

Viper swung at Alex. Alex ducked under Viper's arm, stepped behind her and put her knife to Viper's throat. Viper froze and slowly put her hands up. Alex eventually took her knife away and pushed Viper forward. Viper turned around, defeat in her eyes.

"I'll zip-tie you to that chair again if I have to." Alex grabbed the papers from the printer and spread them out. "Here's the layout of the building. Where's Nick being held?"

Viper sighed and approached the table. "I think he was being held here. There was a small room in the middle of the floor…"

* * *

**A/N: What's going to happen now? Will Alex and Viper succeed or fail? Leave a note in the comments and we'll see who's right!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Quillcox, Chkgun93, phnxgrl, and a guest for their reviews. Just hit 60 reviews, this is great! This chapter is in Beckett's POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 28

Despite Castle's protests, Beckett went to work the next morning, her left arm supported by the sling. Why shouldn't she? Her doctor hadn't said she couldn't, just that she needed to stay at her desk until rehab cleared her to work in the field. Castle had wanted her to take the day off to heal, but Beckett didn't want to. Nicholas Everet was still missing and the man who was most likely his brother was in the morgue. There was work to do.

Ryan and Esposito were surprised to see her arrive and go to her desk. "Aren't you supposed to be home, resting?"

"I can sit around at home doing nothing, or I can sit around here and get some work done. What have you guys found?"

Esposito shrugged and started walking Beckett and Castle through the board. "We went through Everet's apartment last night and grabbed a comb. DNA from the hair is a half-sibling match to our John Doe with the Jaguar tattoo. They are brothers and Lanie says it was the mother they shared. Something about the mitochondrial DNA matching."

Ryan joined his partner. "It looks like Jaguar was crashing at his brother's place. Not sure why. And we don't know who Viper is. I've put in a request with the FBI to see if they have any information on her or Jaguar."

"Did you check for a birth record for Nicholas Everet?"

Esposito nodded. "Put in a request with Social Security. They might be able to tell us where he was born and lead us to where to look. Wherever he was born, it wasn't in New York, city or state."

Castle pointed to Jaguar's autopsy photo. "Jaguar was an assassin. Was his brother one as well?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not as far as we can tell. But then again, when we first met Alex, her apartment didn't suggest she was either."

Castle pointed to the van. "Any news on who the kidnappers were?"

"Nope. Ryan looked through all the traffic footage last night. Nothing."

Ryan grabbed his suit coat. "We did find out that Everet was a paralegal for Sullivan and Cromwell. We were going to go talk to his employers."

Beckett nodded. "Go. Castle and I can handle things from here."

Soon after they left, there was a chime on Ryan's computer. Beckett checked his email to find that the FBI had sent the information Ryan had requested. She forwarded the email to her computer and started sorting through it.

Castle read the file from over her shoulder, curious to know more about the woman who was trying to kill him. "She's got quite the body count. No one knows what she looks like?"

"I guess not. There doesn't seem to be a lot about her. Whoever she is, she's good."

"What did Alex say about her?" Castle grabbed a marker and wrote "Viper" on the board.

"She said Viper was Jaguar's mother, so she could be anywhere from 45 to 60 in age. She uses seduction to make her targets vulnerable and her weapon is poison."

"The age range is off on there. FBI think she's 35 to 45." Castle finished writing on the board.

Esposito's computer chimed this time. "Hopefully that's Social Security." Beckett went over to his computer to check. "Yep. Let's see. Hunh. Nicholas wasn't born in the U.S. According to this, he was born in Paris and then immigrated to the U.S. when he was seven. Gained his citizenship when he was nine."

Castle pulled out his phone. "I have a contact in Paris who might be able to help. Hey, Jean-Claude. It's Richard Castle. I was wondering if you could help me out with something."

The phone was on speaker so Beckett could hear too. "_Perhaps_. _What do you need help with?_"

"I'm working on a case with the NYPD. There're two victims in the case; one has been kidnapped and the other was killed trying to stop the abduction. The victims are brothers. We know the one who was kidnapped is Nicholas Everet, but we're trying to identify the older brother. Nicholas may have been born in Paris. Any chance you could pull the birth record?"

"_You're working with the police?_"

Beckett took over the conversation. "Yes sir. This is Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD. The reason we need the birth record is to help us find the mother. We haven't been able to notify her yet."

"_And you want her to identify the dead son_. _I'll see what I can do_."

"Thank you so much." Castle put away his phone. "Now we wait."

Beckett stood and updated Nicholas' information on the board. "Hopefully when the boys get back we'll have a better idea who would want to kidnap him."

"I wonder if Nicholas was kidnapped to force his mother to do their bidding."

"I'm listening."

"Well, someone wants me dead and Viper is the one who's been hired to kill me. What if she is going after me to rescue her son?"

Beckett became thoughtful. "When Alexis was kidnapped, you were willing to do anything to get her back. I think you might be right. And killing Jaguar let her know her 'client' meant business."

"Exactly. The client only needed one son to force her hand."

"Why pick her though?"

Castle shrugged. "I don't know; her skillset maybe?"

"Detective Beckett, my office."

Beckett groaned as she stood. "Ten buck it's because of my shoulder."

"I tried to get you to stay home today."

Beckett entered Gates' office. "Sir?"

"What are you doing here today? Did you not have your shoulder dislocated just yesterday?"

"Sir, my doctor said that as long as I stayed at my desk or at the precinct, I could work. Please, let me stay on this case. If any new cases come in, Ryan and Esposito can take the lead, but I need to stay on this kidnapping-homicide."

"No field work?"

"No, sir. Just answering phones, looking through records, and paperwork."

Gates nodded. "As long as you can be productive, I'll let you stay. What do you have so far?"

"It turns out our John Doe and Nicholas Everet are half-brothers. From Alex's warning and Dr. Parish's report, we know they share the same mother, who happens to be the assassin hired to kill Castle. The FBI have sent over their file on Viper, but they don't know who she is and they also don't have any information on Jaguar."

"The John Doe is an assassin too?" Beckett nodded. "What are you working on right now?"

"We found out that Everet was born in Paris. Castle has a contact there; he's pulling the birth record for us. With any luck, we'll be able to identify both Jaguar and Viper. And I'll be working on tracking down Everet's immigration record to see if there's anything there."

"And the kidnappers?"

Beckett shook her head. "Ryan screened all of the traffic camera footage, but they managed to get out of the area. So far, we don't have any new leads on them."

Gates nodded. "But you do have a theory?"

Beckett nodded. "We think Nicholas was kidnapped to force Viper to kill Castle. Killing Jaguar was to show Viper that the people behind it all mean business and wouldn't hesitate to kill the other son if she doesn't come through."

"Any ideas as to why someone would want to kill Mr. Castle?"

"Off the top of my head, no."

Gates sat back in her chair. "We need to find Viper and Nicholas. Let me know if you need any strings pulled."

"Thank you, sir." Beckett left Gates' office to find Ryan and Esposito returning. "What did you guys find out?"

"Not much." Esposito took off his coat. "His coworkers thought the world of him, but they didn't know much about his background. Said he would avoid answering questions about his family."

"We took a look at his desk; nothing out of the ordinary. No pictures that weren't work related. What have you guys found?"

Castle went to the board. "FBI and Social Security came back. FBI has a file on Viper, but not on Jaguar. The information on Viper is thin; lots of victims, but no known aliases and no description. I'm thinking she's either adept at disguises, or no one ever gets a good look."

"Social Security says Nicholas Everet was born in Paris. Castle has a contact pulling the birth record. Hopefully we get Viper's real name and not an alias. That might lead us to identifying Jaguar."

Castle's phone rang. "Jean-Claude. Have you found something?"

"_Oui_. _Nicholas Everet's mother is Marie Everet_. _She died six years ago of a heart attack_. _According to the database, her body was claimed by Nicholas' older brother, Pierre_."

"You're sure?"

"_Oui_. _I'm sorry Monsieur Castle_."

Beckett thought it was too convenient. "Is there an autopsy report for Marie?"

"_Umm, no_. _Her religious beliefs prohibited it_."

Beckett shot Castle a look that said "I thought so." "Her son collected the body right after her death, didn't he?"

"_Oui_. _How did you know?_"

"She faked her death. We believe Nicholas' mother is an assassin known as Viper. She used her older son to help her pull it off. Around the time of Marie's death, were there a string of poisonings in the area?"

They could hear typing on the other side. "_Oui_. _Oh, I see_. _Police were closing in on a woman who looked like Marie_. _You think she faked her death to escape_."

Castle looked at Beckett. "You're saying there's a description of the suspect in the poisonings?"

"_Oui_. _I'll send you copies of the files and the report on Marie Everet's death_."

"Merci, Jean-Claude." The call ended and Castle pumped his fist. "We're going to get a description."

Beckett smiled. "Your contact was very helpful. Unfortunately, I doubt Marie and Pierre are their real names. We still don't know who Viper and Jaguar really are."

"At least we're getting a description." Esposito updated the information under Viper.

"We need to figure out who the kidnappers are. Have you guys checked for cameras in the warehousing area?"

Ryan nodded. "We subpoenaed the footage from all the cameras in the area. Some of the owners are being stubborn though."

"The footage you do have, does it give you anything?"

"Not really. We haven't gotten very many yet."

Beckett smiled. "Talk to Gates. She offered to pull some strings if we needed it."

Ryan went into Gates' office as Castle's phone chimed. "Jean-Claude came through. Forwarding it to you right now."

Beckett woke up her computer. "Got it." She opened the file and scanned through it till she got to the picture. It was a color police sketch of a beautiful woman in her late forties to early fifties. She had long auburn hair and haunting grey-green eyes. Her eyes were framed by carefully maintained eyebrows and looked like they could see right through the target. Her lips were full and even in the sketch there seemed to be a seductive smile hovering around them. In short, everything about the woman would make her irresistible to her targets. Any man whose life had been ended by her had probably left this world a happy man.

Castle's phone chimed again. "Here's the other file."

Beckett printed out the sketch and opened the other file. The photo was right up top, a driver's license photo for Marie Everet. The sketch was a dead ringer for this woman, which explained why Marie Everet had felt the need to fake her death to leave Paris. Beckett printed out this photo too and Castle hung them up on the board.

Castle looked at the photo for a few moments. "I've seen her before. I think she was in the crowd at Jaguar's crime scene."

Esposito grabbed the box of evidence from the crime scene and took it in the Conference Room. "If you saw her there, we should have her in the crowd shots." He spread out the crowd shots and they started sorting through them.

"Here," Castle grabbed a photo, "that's her."

Beckett took a look. "I think it's safe to say Marie Everet is not dead."

* * *

**A/N: We'll find out what Alex and Viper are up to next chapter. Please leave a review!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: Sorry this is a day late. I totally spaced on posting this last night. On a different note, I'd like to thank southerngirl1, Chkgun93, and phnxgrl for their reviews. We're picking up almost right where the last chapter left off and starting in Beckett's POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 29

It took a couple hours, but the rest of the surveillance tapes came in. With the help of the team, Ryan was able to figure out which tapes were located where, making it a simple matter to follow the van through the warehouses. Castle would mark the route on the map as the team called out locations.

The van was currently on Ryan's screen. "In front of Warehouse 16. Wait, it stopped."

Beckett stood and went to Ryan's desk to watch the footage. "Still wearing the clothes they kidnapped Everet in."

Two men had gotten out of the van and went into the warehouse. A few minutes later they emerged, dressed as electricians and carrying large vehicle stickers that they carefully applied to the sides of the van.

Ryan paused the video. "Now we know what the van looks like."

"Try to get their faces if you can."

"Way ahead of you." He zoomed in on each of their faces and printed them out along with the van's remodel. "Not the best quality."

"It's something though." Beckett took the photos out of the printer and handed them to Castle, who put them on the board. "Esposito, get a warrant for Warehouse 16. The kidnappers may have left something behind for us."

"You got it."

"Got a license plate." Ryan minimized the video and ran the plate. "Oh, the plates were stolen. The car they originally belonged to was impounded three years ago. The plates were part of a group that was stolen from the yard."

Beckett returned to Ryan's desk. "Why was it impounded?"

"It was part of a crime scene, but no one came to claim it when it was released."

"Who was the owner?"

Ryan typed for a couple moments. "Betsy Clark."

Beckett turned to walk away. "Go talk to her."

Ryan pulled up Clark's information. "That's gonna be hard. She died a few days before the car was released and had no living relatives."

Beckett sighed. "Okay, well, now that we know how the van was changed, see if you can follow it to find out where it goes."

"On it. I think I remember seeing this van a couple times."

Ryan got to work with the traffic footage and Beckett went back to the file Jean-Claude had sent. In Paris, Viper was known as La Veuve Noire, or the Black Widow, which is how Interpol and the FBI hadn't known to work together. The FBI thought Viper stayed in the country and Interpol thought the Black Widow stayed in Europe. Clearly, she was comfortable working internationally. Beckett put that file aside and checked her email to see if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service had responded to her request to view Everet's citizenship record. _There's the email_. She opened the attached file; according to this form, he had been born Nicholas Dupont. Beckett scrolled down to the section regarding his mother. According to the form, her name was Marie Dupont. _That's cute; the French version of Jane Doe_. Clearly, Marie Everet was as comfortable using aliases as she was with traveling. They weren't going to get anything useful from this end.

Beckett sat back in her chair. Castle's question of why Viper had been the chosen assassin was nagging Beckett. Why had Viper been chosen? And why had the person behind it all gone to the trouble of kidnapping her son to force her to complete the contract? Why not just pay her like a normal person would? Was he lacking in the financial area and forced to take more desperate measures? Beckett looked up. Ryan was busy with the traffic camera footage and Castle had gone with Esposito to check out the warehouse.

Ryan looked over at her. "Van disappeared in Queens. I'll have uni's start canvassing the area."

"Good. Let me know if they find it." Her phone rang. "Beckett."

It was Esposito. "_CSU's not coming up with much_. _Either the kidnappers were careful, or they came back later and cleaned up_."

"Ryan, did anyone ever come back to the warehouse?"

He covered the receiver of his phone. "No, we have footage up till ten this morning. I never saw anyone come back."

"Ryan says no one came back."

Castle spoke up. "_There's a back door where no cameras can see it_. _If they did come back, they could have used that door_."

Beckett stood and updated the board, cradling her phone between her good shoulder and her ear. "Okay. Let me know if something changes."

* * *

At 5 o'clock, Gates sent Beckett home. The boys had found the van, but the evidence at the scene made it clear that another car had been waiting nearby, making the location a dumpsite for the van. CSU had processed it but come up with nothing; the men had wiped it down before they left it. Between the warehouse and the van, they had run out of new leads.

When they got home after eating out, Kate eased her arm out of the sling. "That's better."

Rick handed her a glass of water and her pills. "Here."

"Thanks." Kate took the pill. "I'm glad Gates let me stay. I mean, I hate being stuck at my desk, but at least we got some stuff done today."

Rick took the empty glass back to the kitchen. "Now we know what Viper looks like."

Kate sat down on one of the bar chairs. "Now you know who to avoid."

"There are only three women in my life right now; my mother, my daughter, and you. I have no intention of changing that." He started to gently massage her shoulders. "I've already told you, you are my one and done. No one is going to take me from you."

Kate moaned. "Be nice to my shoulder please."

Rick lightened his touch more. "Sorry." He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her left shoulder. "Do you want me to kiss it better?"

Kate smiled as he kissed her shoulder again. "If only that actually worked."

"I must be losing my touch. It always worked with Alexis."

"Maybe only a parent's kiss works that way."

"I can call my mother over."

Kate laughed. "No thanks. I just need to give it some time."

"They say time heals all wounds."

Kate turned her chair around so she was facing him. "It helps when someone you love is there to support you." She grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him down for a kiss. "You've healed me."

"Happy to be of service." He finally stood. "Ice cream sound good for dessert?"

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Alex and Viper had been standing on different rooftops around the abandoned soda bottling plant all afternoon. Viper had been tense the entire time, constantly looking like she was on the verge of attacking the building. Alex had been forced to keep as much of an eye on Viper as she did on the facility. It was turning into a very stressful day.

"We've been looking at the building all day. Let's go. Let's get Nick."

Alex handed the binoculars to Viper. "We'd never get in there. Look. There are lots of guys carrying large guns. If we tried now, we'd get killed before we got within a hundred yards of the place."

"So, what? We're just going to sit here?"

"I can see why you prefer trolling around clubs. The real world seems a little stressful for you." Viper glared at Alex until she continued. "We go in at night. The security should be less by then, plus it'll be harder for them to see us. As long as you follow my lead, we shouldn't have any problems."

Viper sighed and took a seat. "Fine." She was silent for several minutes. "You're too young to understand. A mother is willing to do anything to protect her kids."

"It's sometimes referred to as the 'mama bear instinct'. The thing is, you say you're willing to do anything, but you can't seem to listen to simple instructions. I know it may not seem like it, but I do know a thing or two about infiltrating a building without being seen. You might want to let me use my expertise here."

"You're right. I just don't like leaving my baby in there for so long. I've already lost one son. I don't want to lose the other one too."

Alex nodded. "We'll get him." They were silent for a few more minutes. "So, what's your real name?"

"Miranda. Miranda Rivera."

"How did you become an assassin?"

Viper looked up. "What is this? 'The View'?"

Alex shrugged. "I'm just trying to pass the time."

Viper contemplated things for a moment. "I guess we don't have anything else to do. My father was killed by an assassin when I was twenty. He was a politician whose policies were…less than popular with some crowds. I wanted to get revenge."

"How'd you know who to kill?"

"I saw the man when he did it. When you watch someone you love get killed right in front of you, the face of the man responsible never goes away. You know what I'm talking about."

Alex nodded. "I do."

Viper continued. "My grandmother had been a gypsy, so she had recipes for all kinds of potions and poisons. I selected one that involved snake venom. It was so easy to kill him that I just decided to make a career of it. Over the years, I've perfected my poison and discovered different compounds that have…interesting side effects."

"And Cobra?"

"His name is…was Steven Rivera. I taught him everything I knew and he excelled at it. Nick though; he wanted nothing to do with that part of our lives." Viper smiled. "He's a lot like his father. Even kept his father's last name growing up."

Alex sat down too. "Were their fathers marks?"

"Steven's was. I fell in love with Nick's father. I even tried to retire. But eventually, I couldn't stay away from it and he found out about my secret life. He could have turned me in, but he decided he was too in love with me to do that. The burden of keeping that secret must have been too hard for him to bear because he ended up taking his own life. Nick was six then. I think his father's death is the reason he never felt the pull to join his brother and I."

"But he never rejected you or his brother?"

Viper shook her head. "No; just what we do for a living. My sons get along really well actually. That's why I had Cobra stay close to Nick for the past few weeks." Viper paused, emotion choking her voice. "I wish it had been enough."

Alex looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry. You really did love Cobra."

"I love both my sons."

"Why did 'The Gentleman' decide to kidnap Nick to get you to kill Castle? Why not just pay you?"

"It's his idea of fun." Viper gave a humorless laugh. "I interfered with one of his plans a few years ago, not that I knew I was interfering. He's doing this as payback."

Sloan's Scottish voice suddenly came over Alex's Bluetooth. "_Sorry to interrupt this heart to heart_. _I thought you might want to know what Beckett and company have been up to today_."

Alex sighed. "Go ahead Link."

"_They know Viper was at Jaguar's crime scene and a little about her past in Paris around six years ago_."

Alex waited, but Sloan had stopped talking. "You're calling me for that?"

"_Sorry, something came over the police scanner and I stopped my report to listen_."

"Is it relevant?"

"_No; it was about a carjacking in the financial district_." Sloan cleared his throat and continued. "_They've been trying to track down Nick's kidnappers_."

"What's he telling you?"

Alex shushed Viper. "What'd they come up with?"

"'_The Gentleman_' _is definitely a pro_. _His team was well organized and didn't leave much in the way of evidence_. _Two of the men were caught on camera without their masks, but the video is really grainy_. _They found the warehouse the men stopped at, but physical evidence was impossible to find_._ The story was the same when they found the van_. _Be careful when you go in_. _These guys aren't messing around_."

"Good to know." Alex ended the call and turned to Viper. "The detectives investigating your son's kidnapping are piecing things together, but they won't have enough information to rescue him before the deadline. Which means, when we go in, you have to follow my every instruction. Both of our lives will depend on it, not to mention Nick's. Can you do that?"

Viper nodded. "For my son? I'm willing to do anything."

* * *

**A/N: What's going to happen next? Leave a review and we'll see who's right! Also, I've started a poll on my profile page. Check it out and let me know which storyline you'd like to see in a future (non-Shadow Fox) story. The winning storyline probably won't start finding its way online until next year, but I just want to know where there is more interest. Thanks!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, Chkgun93 and ArieaLeighaGrace for their reviews. This chapter is in Alex's POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 30

Night had finally fallen. Alex and Viper had moved to a spot that was much closer to "The Gentleman's" hideout. Like Alex had predicted, the patrols at 2am were much more lax than they had been during the day. Viper had also been following instructions much better after their chat. Alex smiled; if this went well tonight, Viper might become an ally or a friend. She had actually opened up this afternoon and the two women had gotten along quite well.

But they still needed to get inside the factory. Alex had been watching the guards closely and figured out their routine. Any minute now, the pair standing in front of the doors would move from their post to check around the corner. For three whole minutes, the door would be exposed. Right on schedule, they checked their watches and left their posts to run the check.

"Stay right on my tail." Alex sprinted out from their hiding spot and to the wall across the street, staying in the camera's blind spots. Viper was close behind, copying Alex. Alex flattened her back to the wall and crept sideways until she reached the door. She quickly picked the lock and the two women slipped inside.

Once inside, they hid behind a stack of crates to stay out of sight of the guards patrolling inside. Inside, the patrols worked alone. Just like Viper had described, there were conveyer belts running through the room at different levels with catwalks running alongside them. Alex could hear men moving around on the catwalks, meaning it would be more difficult to move through the building unnoticed.

Alex turned to Viper. "From what I'm seeing, the easiest way for you to get to Nick will be for me to draw the guards away from him. Stay here and keep out of sight."

Viper was also whispering. "What are you going to do?"

Alex handed Viper a Bluetooth. "I'm going to create a distraction to draw them away and keep their attention off of him. That should let you get to him and get him out without them noticing you." Alex turned to go. "Wait for my signal."

"And what's that?"

Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she turned back. "I'll tell you when to go. Just...stay here."

Alex moved away from Viper, sticking to the shadows and darting from one piece of cover to the next. She needed to figure out what was going on inside, which meant she needed to get to a high vantage point. She was about to begin looking for the stairs into the catwalk when she saw a roof access ladder. She climbed up it, getting to the shadowy top so she could look around. The patrols were fairly regular, but there weren't as many of them as she'd feared there would be. _Good for us_.

Now she just had to get off this ladder and onto the catwalk. Like most ladders of this length, this one had a safety cage attached to it. Alex climbed down the ladder until she was close to a catwalk and then climbed through the cage to the outside of it. With a gentle leap, she grabbed the rail of the catwalk and then climbed over the rail onto the walkway.

She silently crept around the walkways, keeping out of sight of the patrols. She turned another corner and headed deeper into the facility. Up ahead, a guard turned the corner. Before he could see her, Alex rolled across a conveyer belt, clinging to a small ledge on the other side to ensure she didn't fall. It felt like the guard was taking forever to pass; Alex's arms and legs were beginning to shake from the effort it took to support her weight with just her fingertips and toes. Finally, the guard went by and turned the corner, affording Alex the opportunity to clamber back onto the catwalk.

Viper was getting impatient. "_Where are you?_"

Alex shook out her arms. "I'm getting close."

"_What's taking so long?_"

"You're welcome to try avoiding all the guards up here too if you like. I told you, I'll let you know when it's safe to go."

"_Hurry up_. _It's already been an hour_."

Alex rolled her eyes and kept going. Yes, it had to be boring and nerve-wracking to stay in one spot and wait, but come on; a little patience if you don't mind. Alex went down a level and turned a corner. Down below in a small, makeshift room, a young man sat in a chair. He was tied down and gagged, but no guards were in the room. _Something's not right_.

"That's strange."

Viper was still clearly tense. "_What?_"

"No one's guarding him." Alex carefully scanned the room. "There's no one in there."

"_I'm going_."

"No, Viper, wait! It could be a trap!" Viper didn't respond. Alex left her position and returned the way she came. Viper had left her hiding place and was sprinting across the main floor. "Viper, what are you doing?!"

Shouts rang out from various places. "Stop where you are!"

Alex froze on the catwalks, watching the disaster. "Viper! Miranda!"

A shot rang out and Viper collapsed. Alex jumped, stunned that their rescue attempt had gone so wrong so quickly. _Why didn't she listen to me?_ Two of the guards approached Viper, guns drawn and pointed at her. They straightened up as an older gentleman approached them; he was dressed in a three-piece suit and walked with the confidence of a man who feared little and held all the cards. "_The Gentleman_."

He stood looking down at Viper for a moment. "Bring her into the other room."

The guards nodded and grabbed Viper under her arms, dragging her into the room where Nick was being held and leaving a smeared trail of blood in their wake. Alex followed from above, desperate to know if there would be any chance to save Nick now. The guards dragging Viper pulled her into a semi-upright position as another guard woke Nick up and removed his gag.

"Mom!"

Viper stirred. "Nick?"

"The Gentleman" was in his element. "Oh good, you two know each other so we can skip the introductions. I'm sorry, Nicholas, it would seem that your mother was foolish enough to try and rescue you instead of killing her mark. That means she needs to be punished." A guard handed him a gun and he shot Viper in the stomach.

"Mom!"

Viper had slumped down between her captors again. "The Gentleman" snapped his fingers and the third guard ran something in front of her face. Viper's head snapped back and the guard stepped back. Alex knew she needed to leave, but she couldn't look away.

"Tsk, tsk. I can't have you dying on me yet."

Viper took a shaky breath and coughed up a little blood. "Just kill me and be done with it."

"The Gentleman" shook his head. "I told you. I'm not about to let you get off easy after you defied me. You really shouldn't have done that. I made it perfectly clear what would happen if you didn't follow my instructions. Now, and this is solely because of your inability to follow instructions, now your son has to pay the price as well." He pointed his gun at Nick's knee and fired. Nick screamed as his knee was blown apart.

Alex could barely hear Viper. "Nick, I'm so sorry."

"The Gentleman" smiled. "Oh, how sweet. I'm so touched; there might even be tears."

Viper still had the strength to add a little venom to her words. "You don't feel any emotion, you monster!"

"You're right, I don't. So, who should I kill first? Both of you will die, so who's the lucky number one?" He glanced between the two. "No takers?" He reached into his pocket and took something out. "Viper, you're heads; Nicholas, you're tails." He tossed the coin to the third guard. "Flip it for me."

The guard flipped the coin and caught it. "Tails."

"The Gentleman" stood in front of Nick, aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. Nick jerked as a red stain bloomed across the center of his chest and then his head slumped back. Alex jumped again, stunned with how easily "The Gentleman" had killed the boy. She heard a choked sob and knew Viper was crying.

"The Gentleman" turned to Viper. "You're turn." He pointed the gun at her head and pulled the trigger again. Viper's head jerked back and then fell forward as the men holding her up released their grip. Alex was hyperventilating. They had started the day with one goal in mind, rescue Nick. Now Viper and Nick were dead and she had to figure out how to get out without getting caught.

Which might be harder than she thought; "The Gentleman" had noticed something. "What is that in her pocket?"

A guard pulled something out of Viper's pocket. "Looks like a Bluetooth."

"She had a partner. Search everywhere! I want her accomplice found! Bring them to me if you can, kill them if you can't!"

Alex jumped up and ran. She had to get out of here right now. The men were swarming into and through the catwalks, which meant she would soon run out of places to go. Maybe if she could get back to the roof access ladder, she could escape. It was a plan she never got to try as the barrel of a big gun swung out into Alex's path and she collided with it, collapsing to the catwalk instantly.

The next thing she knew, an ammonia smell was invading her nostrils and she was looking at a pair of $800 shoes. She scrambled to her knees, feeling like a caged animal. A hand across her belt revealed that they had taken her knife. Alex took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. _This is not how I wanted to die_.

"The Gentleman" waited until she was looking at him to speak. "What's your name?"

"I'm known as the Shadow Fox."

"So you're Alexandra Stevens. I always wondered what you would look like when you grew up. Do you remember me at all?"

Alex was confused. "We've met?"

He nodded. "You were thirteen at the time. I don't think Rathborne had taught you to kill yet."

"I don't remember you."

"Well, we never really interacted much; just a 'hello' in passing." He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at her. "Are you here to kill me?"

"If I was, you'd already be dead."

He looked like he was getting bored of the conversation. "Then why are you here?"

Alex had to think fast. "I'm here for a job. I've heard through the grapevine that you have a need for people with a particular skillset."

"What's wrong with The Listing?" "The Gentleman" was circling Alex.

"I don't like contracts where the husband is trying to get rid of the wife so he can marry the mistress. I need real jobs."

"So I suppose it's just a coincidence that Viper here happened to come the same night you did and you were then caught trying to flee after her death?"

Alex averted her gaze from Viper's bloody body. "No, it wasn't a coincidence. But I wasn't here just to help her. I was using her to find you. She knew where to go."

"The Gentleman" looked amused now. "How'd you convince her to show you?"

"I told her we were going to rescue her son. My plan was to make my way over to him and then wait for you to come in. Like an audition to prove my skills." Alex glanced at Viper. "She screwed up my plans. She was supposed to stay hidden."

"The Gentleman" narrowed his eyes. "Let's say I believe you. How were you planning on ensuring Viper didn't realize you had betrayed her?"

"I'd offer a trade. Nicholas goes free; I'd take out your biggest competitor."

"I'd prefer if you took out Mr. Castle."

Alex shook her head. "I like his books. It would be a tragedy to murder his literary talent."

"His 'talent' is questionable. Well, now that Viper is dead, I would like for you to take the contract, but you won't will you?"

"No, but I'm open to other contracts."

After what seemed like forever, "The Gentleman" finally nodded. "I think I've got something for you. I'll call you with the details."

Alex slowly stood up. "I'd like my knife back."

He started to walk away. "Give her back her weapon. And wipe the place down. We're moving."

One of the guards handed Alex her knife. "Would you like us to dump them?"

"No, leave them. We'll call it in once we're ready to leave."

Alex sheathed her knife and ran, eager to escape this nightmare. The guards didn't even glance her way as they got to work. She smelled bleach as she opened the door into the night. _Time to go_.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is; Alex and Viper failed to rescue Nick and now Viper is dead. ArieaLeighaGrace: you were right, great guess. Glad to see you're enjoying this story so much! Leave a comment down below; I'm loving the feedback!**

**Just a reminder, I've added a poll to my profile page asking which storyline you guys would be most interested in reading in the future. Please check it out and vote!**


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